The Exiled Guardian
by Barrett Machain
Summary: Story of Lunar, the lost Guardian Force of the Moon. Doomed to walk the Earth in exile thousands of years earlier by Hyne for a crime against Bahamut, Lunar finds herself in the present ironically battling for his safety from a terrible fate.
1. The Exile

Disclaimer: All right, here goes…I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or any of the game's characters. These wonderful creations (With the exception of Lunar, Dr. Jenner and Dr. Sabateur!) belong to the AMAZING company known as Squaresoft. :^)

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Barrett's Note: Hello again! Well, I decided to just squeeze my little Trilogy into one whole story so it would be much easier to read. I just prefer for things to be as simple as possible. :^)

So here's the newly revised version of my own personal GF's life story. The story of Lunar, the lost Guardian of the Moon. 

*For my buddy Kev Martin, who helped me discover my true love for this game. Also for Sharpshot Legend, Nataku.Griever, Papagallo, GF Carbuncle, DemonQueen17, Chris Hulme, Jeremy Chapter and everyone else who kindly reviewed this story the first time around. :^) 

The Exiled Guardian

Chapter One- The Exile

Have you ever had the displeasure of being exiled?

I really don't recommend you try it. For those of you who haven't, you don't know how lucky you are. And for those of you that have, well…welcome to my world.

But of course, I welcome you only in a manner of speaking. No one can enter my world. Not nobody, not no how. That's how deep my exile is. For years I have been doomed to walk the world in my own little dimension, completely cut off from everything around me. I have no contact whatsoever with anything, in any shape or form. All I can do is observe.

And regret.

But how did this happen? And why? What could I possibly have done to deserve such a punishment?

Believe me, it was pretty bad. And even though it has taken me many lonely years to admit it, I really deserved my banishment from the world.

So where should I begin? How about at the beginning of the world and my birth? Yes, that seems good.

The Great Hyne created the world that all things live in today. The lands, rivers and seas, plants and animals, humans and yes, even myself. In fact, I was the first of many beings she created to help her keep watch over her creations. I was the very first Guardian and Hyne created me in almost an exact replica of herself. My name was (is) Lunar and I was called this because Hyne derived my powers from the moon. She also gave me the extra responsibility of watching over the creatures that lived there as well. I accepted both of these things proudly.

My Immortal life was simple back then. Observe the lives of all living things, assist them if necessary and then relay the information of the day back to Hyne. By then, more Guardians were created by Hyne to help me keep order and peace around the world. Soon, there were thousands of us wandering around. Harmony was maintained with every little thing and the world was good and righteous.

So what happened?

Jealousy, that's what happened. My petty, disrespectful and downright dangerous jealousy.

Of course, as I look back now I know that I was a fool for it. The world was beautiful, Mortals were prosperous and all of the Guardians were happy with both their work and each other. Hyne was proud of all of us.

But she was prouder of one in particular. One who all the other Guardians respected the most. One who finally drove me over the edge when Hyne declared him Leader of the Guardians.

Bahamut. 

I tried not to hate him. Honestly, I really did. There was no room for that kind of emotion inside our circle of Guardian's. We had more important things to take care of besides our Immortal egos. So for everyone else's sake, I made an effort to get along with Bahamut and just kept my feelings to myself.

It worked for awhile. But then one day chaos erupted in the world and we Guardian's were sent to restore order and calmness. I can't remember the specifics of what started the chaos, but I do remember what stopped it. Or more appropriately, who stopped it.

That's right. Bahamut. He was hailed and proclaimed a hero by all of the Guardians. When he was brought back before Hyne, she praised him for his bravery and thanked him for the job he had done. And then before the whole assembly of Guardian's Hyne announced that from that day forth, Bahamut was to be head overseer and leader of the Guardian's. 

To them, he was simply known as Lord Bahamut. 

But to me, he was now my enemy.

My Immortal life became torture. Every time I saw him my hatred threatened to surface. And the strange thing was that at first, I wasn't sure why I hated him so much. Was it because Hyne favored him more than she favored me? No. I knew I was special to her in my own right. I was her first Guardian and no one could take my place there. So what else could it have been?

Perhaps the admiration and respect he received from the other Guardians? No, because I knew that I had more than enough respect from them myself. As for admiration…I didn't think I needed it. If some Guardian's admired me, then that was wonderful. If not…well, then that was okay, too. It really didn't matter to me. 

No, my hatred wasn't based on any of those things. It was based on something much more selfish. Something that continues to shame me even to this day. I hated Bahamut for one stupid and self-centered reason.

He was better than I was. And not necessarily just in battle, but generally in everything else we did. He was better at adapting to new things, keeping peace between Mortals and staying focused and levelheaded. In short, he always made me feel as though I were inferior to him. And the most infuriating thing was…he never tried to make me feel inferior. No matter how much I hated the fact, Bahamut was just being himself. And I could tell just by looking at him that he had no idea how much I resented him for that. Because if he had been trying to compete with me on purpose, then my hatred would have been more understandable. But since he didn't, my hate and anger could only be described as jealousy. And as we all know, that's considered a one-sided emotion.

So what did I do about it? To put it mildly…the unthinkable. But to put it bluntly (as well as truthfully), I did the most horrible thing a sworn Guardian of the world could ever do. I plotted the death of the Lord Guardian. And if that wasn't horrible enough, I also planned a Mortal's death right along with it…

*Years Earlier*

In order for us Guardian's to help serve and protect the Mortal's more effectively, they were sometimes able to absorb us into their minds. When they did, our full power was then at their fingertips. It wasn't a common practice back then, but Hyne was willing to permit it as long as we Guardians understood the danger that we were submitting ourselves to. For once absorbed into a Mortal, we then became Mortal while inside them. That meant that if the Mortal should die…then the Guardian housed inside would die as well.

I'm sure you can now see where I'm headed with this. Shamelessly, I lured Bahamut into the mind of a young male Mortal and then proceeded to try to destroy them both. The battle was fierce, but I had my hatred to give me the strength to overcome almost every obstacle thrown at me by both Bahamut and the Mortal. In the young man's mind, I could hear the great Bahamut pleading to be released from him and for the Mortal to escape. Even at his most perilous hour, Bahamut was more concerned about the Mortal's safety than his own.

But the Mortal was proud. He never ran away from a battle, which was one of the foremost reasons why I chose him as bait for Bahamut. He couldn't kill me, the Immortal, but I knew that he would fight to earn his survival. He fought valiantly and I must confess, with the added power of Bahamut he had me a bit worried that they might escape. But then luckily for me, the Mortal became overconfident and made one fatal mistake. He believed my surrender and then withdrew his blade. And that's when I struck.

Bahamut screamed a warning to the man, but it was too late. My two long knives were already embedded into his chest and had appeared out through his back. The Mortal gasped more in surprise than pain, but I heard Bahamut roaring in agony. I couldn't help my glee. Victory was mine and by Hyne, did triumph taste good!

Unfortunately, it was also short-lived.

I don't know why, but the consequences of my actions were something I never considered while plotting. Maybe I was too involved with the idea of getting rid of Bahamut that nothing else was able to enter my mind. Or maybe it was that I, too, had become overconfident with myself. As I left the Mortal body in the woods, I found myself thinking about a good explanation to tell the other Guardians and Hyne herself. I would tell them that the Mortal had challenged me and I killed him without knowing that Bahamut was inside him. And if asked, I would say that I heard Bahamut's voice only after I had delivered the final blow. As far as they were all concerned, I had accidentally killed Bahamut and then nobly stayed by his side until he and the Mortal had taken their last breath.

Yes, my confidence was high as I made my way back to the Guardian Realm some time later. After all, it was an honest mistake right? I would probably be consoled and then excused of any possible wrongdoing. After that, there would be a period of mourning for the great Lord and then everything would be back to normal. My conscience would be completely clear.

I should have known better.

I entered the Guardian Realm and was immediately restrained by Diablos, the Guardian of Demi. He told me that Hyne wished to see me now inside the Great Hall because she had some very important questions to ask me about Lord Bahamut. Then without waiting for a reply, he picked me up and flew me to Hyne's Tower.

Was I afraid? Foolishly no, I wasn't. I still felt that my story would hold up to Hyne. After all, I was her first Guardian. She had to believe me.

Diablos led me into the Great Hall. All of the other Guardian's were present. I could hear them whispering to each other, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. The Demi Guardian then threw me down at Hyne's feet.

My creator's eyes were very round and looked to be full of sadness. She was a beautiful being. Her hair had been made out of the sunshine, her complexion made out of the pale moonlight and her eyes were made out of the blue of the ocean. Her compassion and love for all things also contributed to her beauty, for she was truly one with everything. Her gown was made out of puffy clouds and reached all the way to her toes. Even though my hair was white and my eyes were silver, I looked just like her. And I was proud of that.

"Lunar," she began in a very soft voice, "A very upsetting thing has taken place. Lord Bahamut is missing and I've received word that you are the last Guardian to have seen him. So I would like you to tell me what happened when you two met."

This was it. I took a deep breath and began with, "Your Grace, I encountered a young Mortal man while inside one of Earth's forests. He was threatening and foolish, and challenged me to a battle with him. He had no morals and no respect for a Guardian and I was forced to kill him quickly. Believe me Your Grace, this Mortal was not a good man. I had encountered him several times before and his disrespect was always evident in his words and in his actions."

"Please do not ramble off the subject," Hyne requested in that same, soft voice.

"Forgive me, Your Grace," I apologized quickly. "I killed the Mortal quickly but…a little too quickly. I did not realize until I had already struck the death blow that…that Bahamut had been inside the Mortal."

The Guardian's all began to talk at once and a low buzzing sound filled the air. They were obviously in shock. Good. Then that meant that my plan was working.

Hyne simply had to raise one hand and the noise died down. When all was silent again, she looked at me and said, "Continue, Lunar."

I obediently continued with my lies. "Once I found out that Bahamut was housed inside the Mortal, it was too late to save either one of them. Moments after I had struck, both the Mortal and Bahamut took their last breath. They died in my arms."

"And then?" Hyne asked.

"I left the body in the woods and returned here to our Realm," I explained. "I was going to tell you personally about what had happened, but Diablos met me just as I returned and flew me here to see you in council with the other Guardian's. He said that you had some questions to ask me about Bahamut."

"And so I did," Hyne agreed, shifting her position inside of her huge throne. She still spoke in the same, sad voice. "And so our Lord Bahamut is dead? You have inadvertently killed him while he was inside a Mortal?"

"Yes, Your Grace." I bow my head and force concern into my voice. "I inadvertently killed your Guardian Lord. In my rush to dispose of a worthless and disrespectful Mortal, I ended the life of one of my own. I am eternally sorry, my Lady. And to my fellow Guardian's, I apologize to you as well. I have slain your Leader and am truly sorry. Please forgive me."

There was another small buzz as the Guardian's murmured to each other. Again, Hyne just raised a hand and all was silent. Then she fixed her gaze on me again and said, "Everything that you have said is true, Lunar? Lord Bahamut's death was an accident because you honestly did not know that he had been absorbed by the Mortal?"

"It is all true," I swore. "I stand before my Creator and fellow Guardian's and pledge that this is what happened. I killed the Mortal without knowing that Bahamut was inside of him and I was not able to help them in time. This is the solemn truth and may I be dammed to exile if I lie!" 

The hall became still. Hyne had risen out of her throne and was now standing next to me. Her expression remained sad. Then in a disappointed voice, she said, "You lie to me, Guardian of the Moon."

"No!" I denied quickly, hoping that my voice sounded convincing. "I speak nothing but the truth, Your Grace!"

Hyne was not convinced. "More lies."

"No! Again, I speak the truth!"

This time, she didn't answer. Instead, she looked over my shoulder toward the doors of the hall. I turned around…and then gasped.

Bahamut was standing inside the threshold, his great wings outstretched and his mighty arms loose at his sides. His long neck was perfectly straight and he was holding his head proudly erect. The candles that lit up the Great Hall seemed to make his dark blue scales glow as he headed toward me. His walk was magnificent. Shoulders back, head high, steps slow and measured while his long tail swung back and forth behind him. Words really could not do him justice. He was truly a Leader and a Lord. I was both disgusted and fascinated.

The Guardian's lowered to the ground as he passed them, but he paid them no heed and continued forward. A moment later he was in front of me, bending his great head so his big, glowing green eyes could look straight into my silver ones. Staring back, I tried to read what he was thinking in his expression. To my dismay, I couldn't read anything. His face remained impassive and he gave absolutely no sign of any emotion. No hurt, anger or fear was visible on his face. His expression remained blank.

Fury began building up inside me. What was he doing here? He was supposed to be dead! He was NOT supposed to be standing here before me!

My anger was a hideous thing and it broke me from my plan of lies. Enraged, I leapt at him and began angrily beating my fists against his stomach, silently wishing that I could reach his face. "Damn you, Bahamut!" I roared. "Damn you straight to hell! I killed you and that horrible Mortal! Why aren't you dead?! CAN YOU NOT JUST DIE?!"

The Guardian's gasped in outrage and then all began shouting at once. Diablos pulled me away from Bahamut and held my arms tightly behind my back. I screamed and struggled to free myself, trying to use my fury to give myself strength. The Hall was now in an uproar.

"ENOUGH!"

Hyne's voice echoed throughout the Great Hall. Instantly, everyone was still. Including me. All of our eyes turned to her.

My Lady's face had undergone an alarming transformation. Her usually pale cheeks were now bright red with anger and her mouth was pulled back in a terrible scowl. None of us Guardian's had ever acted this way before and I knew that she did not approve of our behavior. It was really this change in her appearance and in her tone that quieted us.

Taking a very, _very_ deep breath, she then focused her attention on me and said coldly, "Lunar, Guardian of the Moon, you have disgraced yourself in my eyes. For not only have you betrayed your Lord Guardian by plotting his death, you have also willingly spoke lie after lie to your Creator. For these abominable acts, you shall be severely punished."

Punished? I opened my mouth to protest but before I could make a sound, Bahamut stepped forward and spoke for the first time since he had entered the Hall. "Your Grace?" he asked Hyne quietly. "May I have permission to speak?"

She seemed to consider for a moment. Then finally, she told him, "I believe I know what you want to say, Lord Bahamut. If you want to discuss the terms of Lunar's punishment, then I grant you permission to choose it. It is only fair."

Fair?

Bahamut nodded and then thoughtfully began to pace back and forth in front of me. The Guardian's couldn't take their eyes off of him. Even while pacing he appeared powerful. And whether I liked it or not, all of that power was now over me. It was up to him to decide my fate.

Finally, he stopped in front of me again and announced in a booming voice, "We Guardian's were created for two purposes. One, to oversee and observe life on Earth and two, to protect and serve the Mortals. After each of us was created, we swore an oath to faithfully honor these duties for all time. Especially where the Mortals were concerned because like Lunar, they were all created to resemble our Lady Hyne herself."

"But…Lunar has betrayed her sworn duty to protect the Mortal's. For in trying to destroy me, she has also willingly killed a Mortal as well. A young Mortal who had absolutely nothing to do with Lunar or myself in any way. He was an innocent soul."

Bahamut paused there and then studied me. I raised my chin and just glared right back.

This seemed to unsettle him. He then turned back to Hyne and finished with, "Therefore, Your Grace, I feel that Lunar should be punished only on the grounds of her betrayal to her duty. Not because of what she has done to me."

There was a general muttering from the crowd of Guardians. But this time, Hyne did not stop it. Instead, she just stared at Bahamut and said, "Are you sure, my Lord Bahamut? You do not believe she needs to be punished for her betrayal to you?"

Bahamut shook his head. "No, my Lady. I have never asked Lunar to swear any sort of oath on my behalf. She has never pledged her allegiance to me or promised anything specific. It is just that I myself believe that there is a greater injustice in betraying a sworn oath than in trying to murder me."

His words brought the Hall back to silence. The other Guardian's seemed surprised. I was as well. He didn't want my trying to kill him to be another factor in my punishment? Why not? What kind of game was the infernal dragon trying to play?

"If that is how you wish it," Hyne agreed slowly, "Then I will comply."

Bahamut seemed very grateful. "Thank you, Your Grace. Now…regarding Lunar's punishment…"

I stiffened. Here it was. My fate was in his horrible, scaly claws.

He looked at me again. "Since she took the world away from an innocent Mortal, then I suggest that we take the world from her as well. In fact, I believe Lunar suggested it herself before I walked inside here. 'May I be dammed to exile if I lie.' Well, she has lied to our Lady Creator and for that I say that she should be sentenced to exile."

"No!" I shouted in horror, trying to step forward. Diablos tightened his grip on my arms and held me back.

"Quiet, Lunar!" Hyne ordered sharply. "You are in no position to object. I for one see the justice in your Lord's suggestion. Sentencing you to exile may be just the thing you need to see the atrociousness of your actions."

"But Your Grace!" I pleaded frantically, refusing to be silent. "Surely you cannot let this dragon decide my-!"

"I said QUIET!" Hyne cried. "One more word, Lunar, and I shall have the Guardian Siren Silence you. Is that understood?!"

More angry words were burning on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them down and then glanced quickly over at the Guardian of Silence. The blond sea siren gave me a meaningful look in return. She would do anything our Creator asked of her and we both knew it.

"Yes, my Lady," I told her lowly. 

"Good." Hyne then glanced back at Bahamut and went on with, "Have you anything else to say, Lord Bahamut?"

There was a long pause during which Bahamut once again studied me with his glowing green eyes. I studied him right back. What more could he possibly have to say? The Great Bahamut had spoken. I was going to be exiled. Let the punishment fit the deed. That seemed to be his credo. My hatred for him increased.

"I did have another thought," he began slowly, keeping his eyes on mine. "Since no other Guardian has ever been accused of something like this before, then I believe that maybe Lunar should be given a chance to redeem herself."

The Guardian's looked at each other in confusion. I was confused, too. Redeem myself?

Again, Hyne looked just as surprised as I felt. "Redeem herself?" she repeated incredulously.

Bahamut nodded. "I consider myself a fair being, Your Grace. Lunar was your first created Guardian and has always been thought of as someone special by the rest of us. Because of this, I believe she deserves a second chance. But in order to receive that chance, Lunar must meet my conditions."

I pressed my lips into a firm line and scowled. His conditions? Now what was he up to?

"My conditions are this," Bahamut continued. "Lunar first must give me a formal apology right in front of everyone inside the Hall as well as an explanation of the motive behind her actions. Then, she must kneel to swear her complete loyalty to me and give me the promise of being my most humble Guardian servant. If she will accept these conditions and declare me as her Lord Guardian, then I will reconsider her exile."

Bow to him and declare him as my Lord?! "NEVER!" I shouted in reply, violently squirming against Diablos' hold and giving Bahamut my best look of revulsion. "I will never submit to you, dragon! Not even for my freedom! The only vow I will give you is this! Every day of my exile, I will hate you more and more with each step that I take! As long as you breathe here in the Guardian Realm and on Earth, you will be hated, detested and abhorred by me!"

There was another long silence. All present were in shock. Then for the first time, Bahamut looked down at me with evident sadness in his big green eyes. Then in a voice that I expect he wanted only me to hear, he asked, "Why?"

Why? "You don't deserve to know why," I retorted bitterly.

Again, there was silence. Then Bahamut gave what sounded like a huge, rumbling sigh and said to Hyne, "Lunar has chosen, Your Grace, so I therefore leave the fate of her exile in your hands." Pause. Then, "And if it is all right with you, then I wish to take my leave now."

I heard the pity in Hyne's voice as she said, "Of course, Lord Bahamut."

He nodded again and then started back toward the doors. Once more, the Guardian's lowered themselves as he passed them. But this time, he stopped to quickly look at all of them. When he had finished, he shook his head and continued out the doors. Then he was gone.

Hyne didn't hesitate. "Lunar," she began in a firm voice, "Step forward."

Diablos pushed me up the two small stairs that lead to her throne and then once again threw me at her feet. I landed awkwardly on my hands and knees and then looked up at her. She was sitting very straight in her throne and gazed back at me with eyes that plainly said, 'The time has come'.

"Lunar," she started again while pointing a finger at me, "Guardian of the Moon. For the crime of betraying your oath to the Mortal's, I hereby sentence you to immediate exile. You are forthwith stripped of both your title and all of the power that the Moon and I myself have given you. From this day on, you shall walk the world of the Mortal's without any physical or mental connection with them OR, any other living or inanimate thing. They will not hear you, see you or even feel you in any way whatsoever. As far as everyone and everything is concerned, you no longer exist."

I just nodded. What else could I do?

"Have you any last words?" Hyne inquired stiffly.

Taking a moment to think, I answered with, "Just one thing, Your Grace. While I am gone, who is going to take care of the creatures on the Moon?"

This time, Hyne took a moment to think. "No one," she answered finally "I will seal your power and bury it somewhere deep within the Earth's surface."

"What?!" I gasped in disbelief. "But Your Grace, that would be extremely dangerous! If my power were to fall into the wrong hands, it could have terrible effects on the Moon! You know how temperamental these Moon creatures can be! If not properly watched over, they can become frighteningly violent and will even try to leave the Moon ! If they succeed, then the whole lot of them will come crashing down to the Earth and the Mortal's will be in very grave danger! I beg of you Lady Hyne, please pass my power along to someone else!"

She watched me carefully for a few moments. Possibly in an effort to see if my concern was genuine. She must have seen that it was because her next coldly spoken words were, "You were not concerned with the one Mortal life that you have taken, Lunar. Why should thousands, or possibly even millions more make any difference to you?"

Her words hurt, as I'm sure she had intended them to. Just because I had wanted to sacrifice one horrible Mortal didn't mean that I wanted them all to die. Could Hyne not see that? I tried to stammer a reply, but she interrupted me again by saying, "And if anything should happen, then let it be a constant reminder to you of what you have forsaken yourself for. If your power does indeed fall into dangerous hands, then the Mortal's shall have no one to blame but you. They may not know you exist, but their tragedies will still rest on your shoulders. It will be your fault, and your fault alone for whatever events your powers bring in the future."

And with that, she stood up and raised her arms above her head. A glowing white orb appeared in between her hands and then slowly made it's way over above my head. I looked up at it just as a bright beam of light shot out and quickly surrounded me on all sides. Seconds later, the beam disappeared and the glowing orb moved back to Hyne. She held it against her chest. I didn't have to ask. I knew that the orb now contained all my power. I lowered my head.

"You exile begins now," Hyne said stiffly. "Farewell, Lunar. May thousands upon thousands of years help you develop a sense of morality and compassion. And when you do, you will rue the day that you ever committed these sins. And if I were you, I would give thanks every day to my Lord Bahamut for suggesting exile for your punishment instead of death. Because make no mistake, Lunar, that if he had considered death…I would have accommodated him."

I no longer had any doubt that she would. There was an even greater bright light then and I found that for the first time, it hurt to look at it. I squeezed my eyes shut against the brightness and then felt the sensation of being lifted. I wanted to open my eyes to see what was happening but the pain from the light made it impossible. Soon though, I was able to open them and then found that I was now on Earth, sitting on top of a grassy hill that overlooked the ocean. My exile had begun.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^*

So that's how it all happened. From that day on I have wandered Earth, watching as it and the Mortals changed over the years. I did nothing in particular, really. Just drifted in and out of places. I especially liked being around the Mortals. They were so lively and carefree with their lives! It was a long while before I encountered any Mortal that was not happy. They always had something to do or talk about. One of my favorite things to do was to sit with them while they told stories. Some made up by themselves, others out of storybooks. I soon came to truly appreciate them. They had their lives and were living them to the fullest.

Years went by. Many years. Countless years. I did a lot of thinking during this time. Mostly about what I had done, and Bahamut himself. I was still angry with him for what he had done to me. Exile wasn't the most exciting thing in the world. I had discovered that very quickly. But Hyne did have a point when she said that Bahamut could have sentenced me to death. I suppose that in some way I should be grateful for his mercy. I hadn't died, but what kind of life was a life of exile? Simple. It wasn't a life at all. Living meant being a part of the world and basking or cursing in whatever it gave you. None of that applied to me now. I had to settle for just observing and after awhile, I finally became used to the idea.

Then came a day when I discovered a Guardian lying dead while I was exploring a mountain range. Incredulous, I sat next to the body and studied it critically. It couldn't have been a Guardian. They were Immortal. They couldn't die unless absorbed into a Mortal who dies. I examined the supposed Guardian closer until I found a series of horrible gashes in its back and a hole in its head. It was indeed dead and yes, it was also indeed a Guardian. The traditional mark of Guardianship was clearly visible behind its neck. I knew of it because I too had one on the back of mine. All Guardians did. Hyne herself had given them to us after we had sworn our oaths to protect the world and the Mortals. There was no mistaking the mark of a Guardian.

But what had happened to him? How did his assailant (or assailants) manage to kill him? He had been an Immortal. Nothing should have been able to hurt him while in his Immortal form, as he was now. It was a complete mystery, and I intended to solve it.

So I began travelling more frequently around the world, hoping to find someone that could give me some answers. I had no power, so my means of travel were restricted to whatever was available to me at the present time. If there was a boat leaving from a place that I had finished investigating, then I was on it. If there were trains heading for another city, I was there, too. If nothing was available, then I walked to my next destination. I wasn't picky. I had all of eternity to find the answers.

It wasn't much later when I got all the answers I would need. It was nighttime, and I had made my way into a patch of woods. I had not been inside them long before I saw what looked like fire in between some trees. Curious, I hurried over to see what was causing it and to my surprise, found two Guardians sitting on the ground around a bright fire. I recognized them both as Cerberus, the Guardian of Multiple Magic and Carbuncle, the Guardian of Reflect.

I watched them in disbelief. Carbuncle was holding what looked like a wet cloth of some sort over one of Cerberus' heads. Thick, red blood was pouring down its face, staining the cloth. Cerberus' other two heads were examining both Carbuncle and the blood. One of the heads then shook back and forth as it said, "I had never seen anything like that creature before." 

Carbuncle folded the cloth again and then set it back on Cerberus' wound. "Neither have I," he admitted. "I imagine that it along with a number of strange creatures came from…the moon."

The Moon?! I had to hear more, so I moved and sat down next to Cerberus. The great three-headed dog let out a growl of agreement at Carbuncle's words and commented, "They had to have. You heard about what happened to the land that the Mortal's call Centra?"

The furry green Guardian nodded his ruby-jeweled head. "A wave of falling monsters appeared out of the sky and destroyed it. Millions of them are now running loose on the Earth. Trillions more by the time they're all finished breeding. And after that…" he stopped and then shrugged his little shoulders. "Who knows?"

Cerberus grew thoughtful. Then he asked softly, "Do you suppose Lunar's power may have fallen into the wrong hands?"

I sat up straighter. I knew that this would happen one day. If only Hyne had listened!

"They might have," Carbuncle allowed slowly. "Or the monsters could have become irritated over the years due to lack of supervision. Lunar did warn our Lady Hyne that that could happen. Here, try to stand now."

"That insolent fool," Cerberus growled as he tried to get to his feet. "She should have known better not to commit those acts. And she sure as hell should have known to accept Lord Bahamut's conditions. If she had, none of us Guardians would be in the position we are all in now. Ouch!" He fell to the ground, apparently still weak.

I was miffed. "I beg your pardon, mutt? Did you just refer to me as an insolent fool? I'm not the one bleeding from my head."

Helping him back into a sitting position, Carbuncle cast a Cure spell on the wound and then scolded Cerberus quietly with, "You can't blame Lunar for the things she herself has not done. Yes, she hated our Lord for reasons that were never explained. Yes, it is possible that her power is to blame for the monsters from the moon. But is it her fault that Ifrit and Shiva had a heated rivalry and became bitter enemies? Is it her fault that a few of us Guardians followed the Fire and the Ice Guardian's lead and had rivalries amongst ourselves? No Cerberus, it is not her fault. Lady Hyne is the reason we are all in this position. She is the one who banished us Guardians all to Earth as Mortals for our behavior."

She had what?! I was shocked. Our Creator had turned the Guardians Mortal?

"Speak for yourself," Cerberus told Carbuncle, shifting his position by lying his three heads on his two front paws. "I had no rivalry with any other Guardian. I didn't deserve to be banished here to earth."

Carbuncle put a sympathetic paw over one of Cerberus'. "I understand how you feel. I didn't have a rivalry, either. But this is how Lady Hyne wanted it. We have no choice but to obey her wishes."

"True," Cerberus agreed reluctantly, giving a small yawn from all three heads. Then he closed all six eyes and went on with, "I just wish I knew why Hyne did this to us."

Me too," Carbuncle told him, curling into a little ball and then closing his eyes. "Me too."

They fell asleep and I slowly got up and headed out of the woods. My mind was churning with thoughts. A few of the Guardians had had rivalries, and because of them Hyne had banished all of them to Earth as Mortals? Amazing. She must have been extremely upset with them because she must have hoped that behavior like that would cease to exist after I had been exiled. No wonder Cerberus was trying to blame me. I never considered the fact that I might have set a very bad example for the rest of the Guardians. But…after seeing what had happened to me, you would think that they would have known better.

And what about Bahamut? He had been their Leader, for Hyne's sake! How could he have let the Guardians come to such as pass? Unless…something had happened to him.

No. He was Bahamut, the Guardian who had somehow cheated death. Nothing had happened to him, I was sure of that now. In fact, he was probably roaming somewhere on Earth right now. I wondered how he felt about being turned into a Mortal. It probably wasn't so bad. From watching Carbuncle, I could tell that the Guardians still had their power. The only difference in their lives now was just the fact that they could become injured. And possibly…die.

I didn't know what to think of all this, so I just accepted it and went about the world. Soon I discovered that Mortals were still able to absorb the Guardians into their minds. And if I wasn't mistaken, these Guardians preferred living this way. The fear of pain and death must have convinced them that being inside a Mortal was safer then being alone in a new and dangerous world. I didn't blame them for these possible thoughts. I probably would have felt the same way.

More time passed and I felt myself begin to greatly tire of my exile. Almost everywhere I went, a Mortal was housing a Guardian. And nine times out of ten, the union was both peaceful and respectful. I believe that the Guardians not only felt safe, but also felt that they were still honoring their oath to protect the Mortals. Before long, these Guardians came to be affectionately known to the Mortals as GF's.

Guardian Forces.

I longed for that. To be part of someone or something again that would need and respect me. If there was one thing I hated the most about my exile, it was the constant feeling of loneliness. I had been alone in my own dimension for almost six thousand years with nothing but my own thoughts and regrets to keep me company. Seeing life go on around me had become too painful to bear. I wanted to live among the world again. I wanted to be a Mortal's Guardian Force. I wanted it more than anything.

But it was impossible. I had been cursed, dammed. Doomed to walk the Earth in solitude for all time. There was no way I would ever be allowed to rejoin the world.

Yet my desire to escape my exile helped me realize a few things. One, the world had changed dramatically since my exile had begun. Guardians had become Mortal, sorceresses were ruling lands, and most Mortals were living their lives by either fighting in wars or by training to fight in them. Two, my power had caused millions of monsters to invade the Earth, whom the Mortals were now trying to fight on a daily basis. Everywhere I turned there was one type of creature or another causing mischief. Hyne had been right. It was my own selfish fault that they were here. If I hadn't have tried to destroy Bahamut, then I would still be in control of my power today and this whole monster situation could have been avoided. I felt guilty for it. Very guilty.

And lastly, I realized that I was extremely sorry for what I had done. Bahamut wasn't a bad being. He never had been. He was just the unfortunate being who had been the target of my foolish and insane jealousy. And Hyne had been right another thing. Bahamut could have considered death, but he was merciful on that account and then even tried to spare me my exile. But I would have none of it. I chose my pride over his mercy. I was a fool. 

I owed him for that. For his mercy, I mean. I wasn't sure how I was going to make everything up to him, me being in my exiled position and all. But I finally decided on one thing. If I couldn't apologize to him, then I would stand by him. For the rest of his life, I would stick by his side throughout everything he did. Like I should have done six thousand years ago. It wouldn't give me my freedom back, but it would give me back my peace of mind.

So with all of my old jealousy and fury firmly put behind me, I set off in search of Bahamut.

I searched for a long, long time. Through the mountains, deserts and fields. Through the forests and across the oceans with absolutely no luck or clue as to his whereabouts. With each day that passed by, I became worried that I might never find him and my hope at making silent amends slowly began to crumble.

But then one day, when I had almost given up on my search, I found him…


	2. The Discovery

Chapter Two- The Discovery

The place where I finally found Bahamut could only be described as hell.

Actually, it was a mobile island that had been almost mythical with the rumors that had been spread around about it. Some called it the 'Island of Inhumanity', while others called it 'Battleship Island' or by its given name, The Deep Sea Research Center.

Unfortunately, I wasn't inside of it long before I realized that the former name was more appropriate.

But I don't want to get too ahead of myself, so let me start at the beginning. I had heard many stories about the Research Center over the years, but wasn't ever really interested until the night I received some very important information.

I had arrived in Dollet just as the sun was setting, weary from my continuing and seemingly endless search for Bahamut. The weather had been both cold and rainy, and a chilly wind had been coming from the ocean. A man had come into the pub already drunk and staggered over to the table where I happened to be sitting. In fact, he almost sat down in my lap but I managed to get out of the way before he plopped down into the chair.

I studied him critically. He wore torn blue jeans and worn tan work boots. His green plaid shirt was faded and missing two middle buttons. His brown overcoat was tattered and covered in what looked like splotches of either grease or oil. A mop of auburn hair was wet and plastered to his face from the pouring rain falling outside. He sneezed and then wiped his nose with the sleeve of his coat. I grimaced. 

The man pushed some hair off of his forehead and then glanced quickly around the pub. Apparently he was meeting someone. And judging by the frenzied way that he was searching the crowd he must have had something VERY important to discuss. So since I hadn't heard anything too exciting for the past few weeks, I sat in another chair and waited with the strange man.

We didn't wait long. A few minutes later, a brown haired man with a matching moustache joined us at the table. He was dressed much more presentably in gray slacks, black wing-tipped shoes and a white buttoned up jacket. I glanced at the breast pocket. He was wearing what the humans called an 'Identification Card' that read, '**Dr. Lyle S. Jenner**.' Gold spectacles sat on his nose.

"Cal," he greeted the red-haired man, reaching across the table to shake his hand. "Terrible weather we're having, isn't it?"

The man (Cal) quickly waved a hand and in a slurred voice replied with, "Never mind the small talk, Dr. Jenner. Just tell me what I've asked to see you about." There was a pause. Then with big eyes, he went on softly with, "Is it true? Do you and your research team really have him?"

Dr. Jenner sighed and then rubbed his forehead. "You and your one track mind. Understand, Cal, that this information is classified as top secret. I could lose my medical license if it gets out."

I watched with interest as Cal smacked the table and said gleefully, "I knew it! All those rumors flying around! You actually have him!"

"Shh!" Jenner warned, looked back and forth around the room. "Let's not alert the whole pub, Cal!"

"Son of a bitch!" Cal was still gleeful, but he did lower his voice. "So tell me Doctor, what's he like? Is he as scary as the stories claim?"

Jenner visibly shivered, and I couldn't help but begin to feel a little impatient. Who was 'he'? And what could possibly be so scary about him?

"Let me get a drink," he told Cal, "And then I'll tell you everything."

He signaled to a waitress and surprised me by ordering two glasses of Reagan, one of the world's most potent and bitter tasting drinks. The young lady hurried to the bar and mixed them personally. A minute later she returned to the table and set them in front of the Doctor, who then told her, "Bring me another two in about ten minutes."

Cal reached over to grab one of the glasses and Jenner immediately slapped his hand away. "You've had enough tonight Cal," he told him with a frown. "These two are for me."

Cal was disappointed. "For you? C'mon Doc, don't hold me out. I'm perfectly fine. I haven't had that much to drink yet tonight." He hiccuped.

"Sure you haven't." Jenner's voice was skeptical. "But it doesn't matter. I'm not buying you any more alcohol. And besides, I need these drinks to take the edge off my pain."

__

Pain? I wondered. Cal asked Jenner for me. "What kind of pain?" 

Jenner took a long drink of Reagan and then set his glass down. Then after another quick look back and forth, he slowly began unbuttoning his jacket and said, "Remember when you asked me if he was as scary as the stories claimed? Well, take a look at this and see if it answers your question." He pulled his jacket open.

I screamed. But not in horror or in fear. Jenner's chest was covered with red slash marks that started at the top of his left shoulder blade, continued down across his stomach and ended somewhere on his right side. They were unique slash marks that I could remember seeing marked into hundreds of trees around the Guardian Realm. So unique in fact, that they could only have been made by one being.

"Bahamut," I whispered to myself.

Next to me, Cal was going crazy over the marks. "Great Hyne, man! How the hell did _that_ happen?!" 

Re-buttoning his jacket, Jenner replied, "We had just finished taking a tissue sample from him and were in the process of chaining him back into his cylinder when he became violent. He attacked two of my assistants before I could shoot him with a tranquilizer bullet. Then right before he went unconscious, he leapt toward me and swung his claws. I tried to jump back before he hit me but…I didn't get too far." He had to pause to take another drink and then shivered again before concluding with, "Somehow the others managed to get him back inside his chains. My assistants were all right but I…I was bleeding very badly and had to be checked. Amazingly, the cuts weren't very deep and didn't require stitches. But…I was scared. And still am, quite frankly. Truth be told, I may not go back and help continue with my research for a long time."

I had heard enough. Bolting out of the chair, I ran over to Jenner and shouted, "Where? _Where_ won't you go back to finish your research?"

"Really?" Cal sounded astounded. "You're putting your part of the research of the millennium on hold because of a few scrapes on your chest?" He shook his head. "Jenner, if we weren't such good friends I'd have to punch some sense into you."

Right about then I was wishing that I could punch some _answers_ out of him! Jenner was just sitting there, looking small and afraid. I was disgusted. He had mentioned chains, a cylinder and a tissue sample. What did all of that mean exactly? What were they doing to Bahamut? 

"I'm afraid I've been punched around enough," Jenner told Cal with a wry smile. "And I do plan on going back, Cal. Just not right away. I have a brilliant team of researchers who will be able to handle things until I return." 

Cal leaned back in his chair and appeared thoughtful. Then he carefully asked Jenner, "Doc? When you do go back…can I go with you and see him?"

"Yes!" I cried in Jenner's ear. "Tell him yes, Doctor!"

Jenner looked doubtful. "I don't think so, Cal. That's against all regulations."

"Oh, for Hyne's sake!" I was exasperated. "Hang the regulations! What do you think you're doing now, Jenner? Didn't you say that you could lose your medical license if your secret got out? If you can tell Cal you have him, then why should it make any difference if he sees him?" 

Now Cal was disappointed. "Can't the Research Center bend the rules for it's number one doctor?"

Research Center? That sounded familiar. Where had I heard it before? I tried to think. Research Center. The…Research Center. No, it was something more. The Sea Research Center? No, it was…was…The Deep Sea Research Center!

"I don't think so Cal," Jenner was saying. "That island isn't in the middle of nowhere off the Southern Coast of Centra for no reason. What we're working on out there isn't simple stuff. It's all very complex and not to mention, very dangerous."

An island off the Southern Coast of Centra in the middle of nowhere? Not good. If Jenner didn't go back…then how was I supposed to find it and get there myself? Swim? A possibility, but I would be lost out in the ocean in almost no time. And come to think of it, I've never even swum from one _continent_ to another before. Swimming to find a remote and MOBILE island would definitely be a thousand times more difficult, not to mention time consuming. Still…if Jenner continued to be a coward then I would have no choice.

Luckily for me, Jenner finished his two drinks and then quickly gulped down the next two that the waitress brought him. By the time all four glasses were gone, Jenner was singing a new tune. The crazy man went on to explain that he and his team had found Bahamut while he was sleeping beneath a giant rock formation on the outskirts of the Kashkabald Desert. With the dozens of pictures and reports that they had seen and read, they had recognized the great Guardian immediately and oh, how ecstatic they were! The find of the Century! The mysterious and legendary GF, Bahamut, was now theirs. After they had injected his sleeping form with a tranquilizing solution, of course, and then called in for a helicopter to come pick them all up. Then they had celebrated.

I was becoming more and more horrified as the conversation continued. Aside from the tissue samples, I learned that Jenner had a whole list of other experiments he wanted to perform. Blood samples, eye exams, throat cultures, skin graphs, allergy tests, endurance tests, mental tests, organ examinations, biopsies from all areas of his body and lastly, a possible lobotomy in case Bahamut's body should become too weak for any more testing. Jenner then had the nerve to announce that the rest of his researchers had probably come up with even more tests and sample ideas since he had left.

And Bahamut thought _I_ deserved to be exiled?

Bit by bit, this conversation began to make me seriously rethink the oath to the humans. After all that the Guardians had done (and were continuing to do) for them, this is how they repaid them? By stealing Bahamut away while he slept so they could experiment on him and Hyne only knew what else? If this was repayment, then I would just as soon prefer that they keep their Gil in their pockets. A Guardian's Mortal life could not, in my opinion, be bought that easily.

Eventually, the four glasses of Reagan helped convince Jenner to get back to the Research Center straight away and when he stumbled out of the Pub, you'd better believe that I was right behind him. He ended up leading me to a boat that was tied up to the dock. Relieved, I climbed onboard and followed him down into what appeared to be his private quarters. Apparently, he lived on the boat while away from the Research Center where, I assumed, he had taken permanent residence. It was modestly small. Just a bed and one dresser, but judging by Jenner's job he didn't need much else while gone from the island.

I wanted to leave right away, but Jenner had another idea. He kicked off his shoes and lay down on his bed to sleep off the alcohol that was now running wildly in his veins. Wouldn't want him to pass out at the helm and end up crashing the ship, now would I? 

"That would be far better than you deserve," I told the now snoring doctor. Then with a deep sigh, I sat down next to the dresser and leaned my head against it, grateful that my search for Bahamut was almost over. Moments later I, too, was asleep.

We started out the next day. The trip was long. Five days long to be exact, all during which I sat aft on the boat looking out into the ocean while Jenner was either steering the ship or sleeping. I was very worried about Bahamut. Yes, worried. Is that so hard to believe? Maybe it would have been hard six thousand years ago, but now it seemed much easier to believe. I suppose living an exiled life with nothing but your past mistakes to reflect on can have that kind of effect on you. In any case, I was concerned. Who wouldn't be? This was a Mortal life that was being held in chains day after day purely for scientific purposes. Never mind the fact that he was once an Immortal. Never mind that he was Bahamut, Lord of The Great Hyne's Guardians. Never mind that he might actually want to LIVE his life the way he would want to, which I'm sure didn't include being held captive by a group of human researchers desperately hungry for knowledge. Never mind any of that. Science was going to rule in this situation. 

By the time we finally arrived at the island, I was extremely anxious to get inside. Again, it had taken five days to get here. How much could they have put Bahamut through in that amount of time?

Jenner and I entered the Center through a small opening on the South side of the island. Already, I could see that a lot of work went into building the place. It was a huge structure that took up the _entire_ island. Unfortunately, I only caught a glimpse of one side of it before Jenner sped the boat inside of another opening and we found ourselves in dark ness. The doctor simply put on his lights and then suddenly, thousands more appeared and lit up the…well, wherever we were. It seemed to be a giant cavern. As I looked around, I saw many more boats tied to a nearby dock. Not surprisingly, Jenner maneuvered toward the dock and then proceeded to ease the boat into an open space between another two. Then grabbing his white jacket he hopped out of the boat, tied it to the dock and then hurried to the door that stood on the far end of the dock.

I was right behind him. When we got there, he pulled something out of his jacket pocket and slid it into an opening that was beside a giant wheel in the middle of the door. A moment later, a voice said, "Activating airlock. Number of reserve steam power units required…two." There was a loud noise and then suddenly, steam appeared all around the door. Then the voice continued with, "Proceed. Remaining number of reserve steam power units …eighty-seven." 

Jenner then pulled the object out of the door and slid it back into his pocket. Then he began turning the wheel on the door and after a mighty push, it opened up and I found myself entering a large, circular room full of people in white jackets identical to Jenner's. Some where sitting in front of computers, while others were going over paperwork or conversing in small groups. A tall man with black hair, bushy eyebrows and dark brown eyes walked over and greeted Jenner with what looked like a very brisk handshake. Like Jenner, he also wore an Identification Card on his jacket. His read, '**Dr. Malcolm G. Sabateur**.'

"Glad to have you back with us Jenner," Sabateur told him with what looked like a very forced smile. "You'll be glad to know that I've halted all tests and samples on Lord Bahamut so you could have the chance to…recuperate from your ordeal without any worry. Everything is just as you left it, waiting for your return."

"'I see." Jenner's smile also appeared to be forced. It was obvious that the two did not care for each other much. Although by the sound of things, this Dr. Sabateur did not seem to approve of the type of research that was being preformed on Bahamut. This won him some of my respect immediately. Some, but not all of it.

"Let's go see him," Jenner went on, heading for another door that was next to a flight of stairs. "I want to observe his mental state after not being tested on for ten days. My, The Great Lord must be beside himself with boredom. Shame on you, Sabateur, for not proceeding with the tests as I had planned."

There was no mistaking the sarcasm in his voice. But Sabateur just ignored it and trailed Jenner into the next room. I followed.

Nothing could have prepared me for the shock I received when I entered the room. It was all white, with more machinery and equipment than I had ever seen in one place before. A dozen more computers lined one of the white walls. TV screens and wires were hooked up everywhere around me. An immense operating table on wheels sat on one side of the room, next to a row of supply cabinets filled with testing equipment. A couple of sinks were in a corner and a giant freezing unit (which I was sure already held samples of Bahamut's Mortal blood and body) was sitting right beside me next to the door. There were no windows. There wasn't even a ventilation system. Fans had been set up around the room to keep the air circulating. But…it wasn't the room that shocked me. No, it was the unbelievingly huge glass cylinder that stood from ceiling to floor, and took up the whole middle of the room. Inside, covered in countless chains, stood the Great Lord Bahamut.

I almost didn't recognize him. He looked _frightening._ His once rich, dark blue scales had faded into a considerably paler shade and his whole body seemed to have withered and shrunken in size. As I inched closer, with my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open, I saw that his claws had been cut from both his hands and his feet and his mouth had somehow been wired shut. His great wings and tail had been clamped together behind him with some sort of metal restraint that was hanging from the top of the cylinder. To me, he was now a mere shell of his former self. All of his intensity and power were gone. He looked small, bleak and beaten and the next thing I knew, my eyes were burning with tears.

Jenner came up beside me and rapped hard on the glass, causing Bahamut to open his bruised eyes. The green glow had disappeared from inside of them and they were now a dull black color. He blinked at the doctor and let out a pitiful grunt.

"I see we're awake now," Jenner greeted him in a cold voice. "I had the researchers keep you under strict anesthesia while I was gone. Did you sleep well?"

Bahamut blinked his eyes one more time and then closed them, leaning his head to one side. Then he didn't move.

His actions didn't affect Jenner in the slightest. The doctor knew who was in charge around here and who wasn't. With another hard rap on the glass, Jenner then told Bahamut, "Testing is going to immediately resume. And this time, O Great Lord of the Guardians, I would suggest that you be more cooperative or I will have to find more ways to restrain you. Is that clear?"

Again, Bahamut didn't move. But I was now so horrified with everything around me that I answered Jenner for him. "You bastard."

He didn't hear me, of course. "Good. Then I will see you again in a few minutes." And with that, he headed out of the room.

Sabateur didn't follow right away. Instead, he moved over to the glass himself and gave Bahamut what looked like an encouraging smile. Then he exited the room after Jenner.

All was silent, except for an occasional beep from one of the many surrounding machines. The tears that burned my eyes earlier were now running freely down my cheeks as I stared helplessly through the glass at him. No words could describe the pain I was feeling. Mortals, the people who the Guardians had sworn to protect, had put Bahamut here. They had brought him to this place to be chained, tortured and experimented on at will for their own selfish reasons. His Mortal life didn't mean anything to these researchers except to have the chance to play Hyne and see how far they could get. It was revolting.

Of course, I really didn't have room to speak. Long ago, it was I who attempted worse things on his _Immortal_ life, so in essence I probably had no right to judge these humans. But as the saying goes, time does heal all wounds. Or in my case, it healed all jealousy and helped me see and accept the mistakes I made. But since no Mortal was going to live six thousand years to learn that lesson, then maybe I did have the right to judge them. If not, then at least Hyne would be proud to know that I had indeed developed a sense of morality. I'm sure she, too, would be upset with the human's behavior.

Yet if she was so upset…then why was she letting it continue? And to Bahamut, of all Guardians?

I didn't have the answers, but as I stood and stared at Bahamut I found myself wishing that I did. All things happened for a reason…yet for the life (or exile) of me I couldn't imagine what the reason for this kind of inhumanity could be.

Wiping the tears off my cheeks, I stepped through the glass and stood next to him. His breathing was shallow due to the many thick chains that were wrapped tightly around him. There were four connected to his wrists, four at his ankles, six around his neck and eight around his middle. With all of that plus the restraint from the ceiling and the state of his mouth, I was amazed that he was even breathing at all. Even as a Mortal, Bahamut was tough. I found that admirable.

Even though I knew he couldn't hear me or see me, I nevertheless greeted him sadly with, "Hello, Bahamut. It's been a long time."

Not surprisingly, he didn't move. But it did not matter. I had searched for a long time for this moment. Exiled or not, I was determined to have my say. But ridiculously…I was extremely nervous. My hands were even shaking. Swallowing, I folded them behind my back and went on with, "A lot has happened between us, hasn't it? Some good, but…well, most of it bad. And unfortunately, there were more bad times between us than good. At least, from my point of view."

Nothing. Then another beep from the machine.

"I'm sure that you probably agree with me," I continued, absently walking around him to the back of the cylinder. "There was a lot you didn't know about me. My…hatred for you being one of them."

I paused there and examined the restraint holding his wings and tail together. It was a complicated looking device that not only looked complicated, but uncomfortable as well. As far as I could tell, Bahamut could not shift his current position at all. The restraint was firmly holding his body in one place. Bahamut's back and wings must have been in terrible pain.

Biting my lip, I reached out and tried to touch the restraint. Like so many times before, my hand was on an object but…I couldn't feel it. And because I couldn't feel the restraint, then I couldn't release it either. The irony depressed me. The one time I actually wanted to _help_ my old enemy…and I wasn't able to do it.

I stood before him again, feeling even more miserable than before. Here he was in this dreadful place and he didn't deserve to be here at all. If anyone did, it was I. All Bahamut ever did was care for the world and everything in it. I on the other hand only cared about myself, nothing else. I had always been that way. And I still was, if I wanted to be honest with myself. Because the only reason I was there with him now was because I wanted to feel better about what I had done to him. That was all. I didn't deserve his forgiveness. I didn't even deserve to stand beside him. Not after everything I had done.

"I'm so hopeless," I whispered suddenly, looking up at him and feeling my chin start to tremble. "Here I am trying to explain myself to you and all I can do is…is feel sorry for myself as I try to explain. There's just…so much that…that I need to say and I…I just can't find the words to…" I couldn't finish. Overwhelmed, I dropped to my knees and began sobbing at his chained feet. Why couldn't I say it? Why couldn't I just tell him that I was sorry? He wasn't going to hear me. He wasn't going to be able to tell me that he wouldn't accept my apology. So why couldn't I tell him?

Maybe because…I knew that it was pointless. Why try if he wasn't going to be able to respond one way or the other? What possible good would it do? Why did I even come here in the first place? I couldn't remember anymore. All I knew right then was hurt and regret and self-loathing. All I knew was…pain.

I had to get out of there. Quickly. But before I could move, Bahamut let out another grunt and began moving his head frantically back and forth. Puzzled, I turned around and then felt my heart stop. Jenner had reappeared in front of the glass with several members of his team behind him. They were all dressed in surgical scrubs and masks. An evil glint was in Jenner's eye.

"Time for another sample," he informed Bahamut with a twisted smile as he attached a rubber hose to the side of the cylinder. "If you don't mind Your Lordship, I'm going to attempt to extract a bit of bone marrow from you. If that goes well, Dr. Sabateur will then go on to perform a series of allergy tests on you. Unfortunately…" he trailed off as he finally clicked the hose into place. Then after taking a moment to push a couple of buttons, he finished with, "I'm going to need you wide awake while I operate. For medical reasons, of course. But don't worry, this gas will insure that you don't feel any pain. Now breathe deep."

A thick, green fog entered the cylinder and slowly began to spread itself around. Bahamut instantly began trying to struggle against his restraints. But it was no use. Soon the gas had surrounded him and then he had no choice but to breathe it in. His eyes began to water and he tried to cough, but the wire over his mouth prevented him from doing so and the cough stayed caught in his throat. Within seconds, his whole body slumped downward and the gas disappeared. He was paralyzed.

I was outraged. Jenner had to keep him awake for _medical reasons?_ I had never heard of such a thing! Who did Jenner think he was fooling?! 

The door to the cylinder was opened and Dr. Sabateur ventured inside. I could tell it was he by the dark eyes that were visible above the mask. Carefully, he inserted a key into one of Bahamut's chains and gave it a turn. Simultaneously, the rest of the chain's locks sprang open. Then after a quick glance at Bahamut, Sabateur motioned for the other researchers to bring the oversized operating table over.

I was torn. Part of me still wanted to get out of there, but the bigger part was frozen to the spot in horror. They were actually going to cut Bahamut open while he watched. The monsters! How could they?!

The team of researchers helped Sabateur release the ceiling restraint and then carefully placed him on the table, securing his feet and wrists once again with chains that were attached to the table. Then they helped in pushing him over to one side of the room and started turning on all kinds of lamps while Jenner was giving out instructions. Carts full of operating tools were wheeled out and set next to one side of the table. Plastic sheets were placed on the floor. One researcher was even putting fresh batteries inside of a video camera. Another was placing a different kind of restraint on Bahamut's wings. Soon all was ready and Jenner was handed the first tool.

I crept over to the table, still debating on whether or not I was going to leave. Bahamut was lying on his stomach with his great head hanging off the top of the table. Not wanting to see Jenner's progress, I knelt down and studied the dragon's face.

I watched him for a long time. And I found that the longer I watched, the less I wanted to run away. He wasn't in any physical pain, that much I could tell. Jenner had been true to his word when he promised him that. But looking into his dull eyes, I could see that Bahamut was in a different kind of pain. He didn't want to be here any more than I did but unlike me, he couldn't run away. He couldn't even stand. _He couldn't even_ _sit up,_ for Hyne's sake. He was trapped. And he hated it, I could see that clearly. He was used to fighting and defending his way to his freedom. But in this case, he couldn't. He was weak, all his energy had been spent and all the fight seemed to have left him. He was completely helpless here. And he knew it. That's what his eyes told me.

I'd never seen him like this before. Never in my Immortal life. It was very disconcerting. A brave and powerful Bahamut I could handle. A weak and defenseless Bahamut would be something I'd have to get used to.

Get used to… 

I sighed. Now who was_ I_ fooling? Myself, that's who. I should have known that I wasn't going to go anywhere while he was like this. I had come to this island with a purpose. And…I suppose that with that sense of morality, I also unknowingly picked up a sense of compassion along the way. 

My decision was made so I sighed once more, leaned my head down to his and said in a weak voice, "Well Bahamut, it looks as though you're stuck with me because I am going to stay here by your side throughout this whole terrible ordeal. And then when -and if- these horrible humans decide to let you go free, I'm going to be next to you still. You spared my life after I tried to take yours, and then you even tried to spare me my exile as well. For all the things you have done for me that I was too foolish to accept, I now give you my exiled presence in return. Granted it's not much, but it really is all that I can give you now. That and…and the formal apology you once asked me for so many years ago."

Pause. Somehow, I knew that my long-awaited apology was now going to be a lot easier to say. Although _why_ it was going to be easier, I really couldn't say. Perhaps it was because I had finally realized that my seemingly endless search for Bahamut was now officially over. Or it might have been that I now felt that if I just apologized, I would feel one step closer to possibly overcoming my exile. Not in the sense that I may actually be freed from it someday, for I had come to grips a long time ago with the fact that there was no redemption for me. But more in a sense that I believed I would be able to fully cope with AND accept my exile without any more regrets or guilt. If Bahamut could do that for me now, then I would be more than willing to do anything I could in return.

Which may not have been a whole lot but again, if there was anything I would do it. And I would start with the apology.

So cupping Bahamut's upside head in my hands, I cleared my throat and said, "Bahamut, I am sorry. I'm sorry for everything I've done to you. I'm sorry for hating you for my own selfish reasons. I'm sorry for never standing proudly beside you in battle. I'm sorry for purposely trying to end your life and killing an innocent mortal in the process. I'm sorry for not meeting your conditions for the reconsideration of my exile. But most importantly…I'm…I'm…"

Oh no, I was getting choked up again. I had to take a couple of deep breaths to remain calm. As I did, I glanced up over Bahamut's head and looked around at the researchers. Jenner was holding a giant syringe filled with an off-white substance while Sabateur began stitching Bahamut back up. Then Jenner said, "Proceed with the allergy testing, Sabateur. I'm taking this sample and the rest of the team to the lab. I want to analyze this as soon as possible." He held out the syringe before adding cruelly, "Of course, if you can't handle the testing I would be happy to have someone else do it. Someone a little more professional."

To his credit, Sabateur didn't take the bait to start a fight. He just immediately went to retrieve the supplies he would need from one of the supply cabinets and then brought them back to the table. Then he sat down again and went back to work on Bahamut's stitches.

Jenner flashed him an angry look and then ordered the rest of the team to follow him to the lab. Moments later, it was just the three of us.

Making sure the coast was clear, Sabateur carefully pulled yet another smaller syringe out of his scrub pocket and then gave it a quick once-over. Then to my surprise, he stood next to Bahamut's right side and said, "I'm going to put you to sleep now, Lord Bahamut. Allergy testing does not require you to be awake. And neither did the bone-marrow extraction. Jenner is nothing but a sick man who thinks that he has found his fortune in you, and I'm very sorry that you had to go through that operation the way you did."

"He's also a coward who almost didn't come back here," I grumbled to Sabateur. He just kept talking to Bahamut. "So rest for now, Bahamut. Rest, and I will see what else I can do for you."

Sabateur then stuck the needle inside Bahamut's arm. But I hadn't finished apologizing yet! Where was I? What had I been saying?

Oh, that's right…

I glanced back down at Bahamut and saw that his eyelids had begun to droop. He really needed to rest. But first I had to close my apology with, "And most importantly, I'm sorry that I can't help you escape from this evil place. Believe me when I say that if I could, I would have you away from here in a heartbeat. This kind of punishment isn't befitting my Lord."

I paused again. Had I just referred to him as my Lord? Good Hyne, I had!

I felt as if a great weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. My burden of guilt and regret seemed to vanish and a feeling of both peace and relief settled in my soul. The force of these emotions was almost overwhelming and for a moment, I was afraid that I might start crying again.

"My Lord," I tried again, testing the words carefully as they came out of my mouth. "My Lord Bahamut."

It was amazing. Every time I said the words, those feelings of peace and relief seemed to swell in my soul again. But what did it mean? Could it be some sort of sign? Or was it simply just my true feelings of respect for him finally coming out?

I didn't know. But for now, I was content to think that I had succeeded in the first half at making my silent amends. The second half now depended on me staying by Bahamut's side. He may not know that I'm there but it would be worth it to know that unlike me, he would have someone there who cared for him during the worst ordeal of his life. 

Looking at Bahamut once again, I found myself beginning to feel a tiny bit happy. For the first time in six thousand years, I felt like I was where I belonged. My guilt and regrets had completely vanished. A new life was beginning for me. I could just feel it.

"But I will have you know, Lord Bahamut," I informed him with mock seriousness, feeling an old friend called a 'smile' come to my face as I stood above him. "That I have no plans to share your cylinder with you. Our Hyne's world may have changed drastically over the years, but I'm still an old-fashioned Guardian Girl at heart." 

And with that ridiculous statement, I felt another old friend come to me.

Laughter.


	3. The Truth

Chapter Three- The Truth

And so we lived, day after day, in my Lord's own living nightmare. Despite my words, I did indeed share Bahamut's cylinder with him. During the daytime he was poked and prodded almost constantly for some reason or other. The researchers kept a daily account of his strength and vital statistics. At night, they kept him under constant surveillance by both guards and video cameras. This tactic puzzled me a bit. Did they actually think that he was going to try and escape again while in his condition?

Apparently, Jenner did.

Bahamut's situation did improve somewhat as time passed. Sabateur argued with Jenner over and over that the persistent testing and surgeries were taking a toll on Bahamut's health. "It's becoming too dangerous," Sabateur kept telling Jenner. "Look at him. He' s wasting away right before our eyes! If you don't cut back on the experimenting, we are going to lose him."

It took awhile, but Jenner finally agreed and to my relief, the extensive testing (surgeries and such) was restricted to once or twice a week.

When he wasn't being tested on, I sat inside of his cylinder with him and told stories about what I had been doing over the years, just because it felt nice to share my past. When I became tired, I would lay on the floor next to his feet and sleep. Then when Jenner and his team _did_ operate, I stood behind Bahamut's head and cradled it in my hands. Thankfully, Sabateur also put a stop to operating without proper sedation and Bahamut never again had to consciously witness another surgery.

Still, for me it was always too terrible to watch so I opted to keep my eyes closed while whispering reassurances into his ears. It all may have been for naught since he couldn't hear me, but I felt that it was the best thing that I could do for him while I was there.

Some nights, when I couldn't sleep, I would wander around the rest of the Research Center. There were five other floors besides the one Bahamut was being held on. On these floors, I found yet even more researchers' working on different…projects. As I saw them, I was reminded again of the term 'Island of Inhumanity'. Never before had I heard a term that was so truly well earned. In addition to Bahamut, these researchers were experimenting on both monsters and…and _humans_ as well.

Just when I believed that the place couldn't possibly become any more horrifying, the researchers proved me wrong by actually running tests and experimenting with their own kind. And not just any old kind of experiments, but it seemed as though that they were trying to… _merge_ a human and a monster into one new being. There were numerous bodies strapped onto gurneys inside one room that were almost too grotesque for words. Men and women alike were being merged with monsters like the Funguar, Blitz, Anacondor and Grand Mantis. Monsters that had yet to be joined to a human sat in electrified cages around the fifth floor. Geezards, Blood Souls, Grendels and even a trio of Ruby Dragons were all waiting to meet their doomed fate along with a few more formally mentioned monsters. 

As you can surmise, I didn't stay in any of those places for too long before I returned to Bahamut's cylinder. And every time I returned, I found myself wondering the same question: What in Hyne's name were these researchers trying to accomplish with these poor humans and monsters, and just what did Bahamut have to do with it?

The answer would turn out to be more alarming than I could have ever imagined. And I discovered it the awful night when Dr. Sabateur left the island…

*Ten Days Earlier*

It had been another sleepless night for me and I was out sitting on the dock next to Jenner's boat. My bare feet were in the water and I once again cursed the fact that I couldn't feel its coolness. Before my exile water had always been the one thing to sooth me during times of tribulation. Anyhow, I hadn't been there long before the door to the lab was suddenly pulled open and an angry Dr. Sabateur came storming out onto the dock. He was wearing a black jacket over his medical uniform and a large gray traveling bag was in his hand. Jenner came out behind him. He didn't have a jacket and his hands were empty. 

I was instantly worried. Both of the doctors' attitudes toward each other had not improved since I had gotten there. Jenner was still constantly needling Sabateur and provoking his temper, while Sabateur still argued over Bahamut's position and well being. It was an awkward living environment for the rest of the researchers. Apparently, the two were _partners_ in this experiment. One would tell their team one thing, and the other would dismiss the former statement and tell them something completely different. More heated arguments between the two doctors were usually the end result of things like this. And the more frequent they became, the more I began to fear for my Lord's safety.

Like that night. Sabateur headed for the speedboat tied next to Jenner's boat and threw his bag into it. My insides froze. Bahamut's only human defender was trying to leave. All I could see was his orders to insure Bahamut's safety rapidly disappearing.

"No!" I cried frantically, standing up on the dock and hurrying over to him. "Where are you going? You can't leave! My Lord needs you here with him! He needs you here to protect him from that insane monster, Jenner!"

"Malcolm!" That was the insane monster himself as he joined Sabateur and me by the boat. "Just where in the hell do you think you are going?! This experiment isn't over yet!"

Sabateur's dark eyes were aflame. Pointing an angry finger at Jenner, he replied with, "On the contrary, Lyle. This experiment has been over for me for weeks. I just pray that I can walk around the mainland's with the tiny shred of conscience I have left. What's going on in there is defying all the laws of nature, Lyle. Human Nature _and_ Mother Nature. And I have no desire to be a part of it any longer."

"What are you _talking_ about?!" Jenner demanded, grabbing Sabateur's arm as he tried to climb into the boat. "This wasn't just my idea! If I remember correctly, it was _you_ who proposed to _me_ the idea of creating new Guardian Forces!"

"W_hat?!_" I gasped aloud, switching my gaze back and forth between them. Create new Guardians? Was that really what they were trying to do?

Sabateur tried once again to climb into the boat. "A mistake I wish I had never made."

"MISTAKE?!" Jenner roared, pulling Sabateur back onto the dock and then gripping his arms. He was clearly upset. "How can you call it a mistake?! We've made incredible progress! We've come farther than any other would-be researchers in the world! The successful joining of the monster's and the people is complete! Within the next two weeks, everything will be ready!"

With a mighty shove, Sabateur pushed Jenner away from him and shouted, "And then what, Lyle?! Huh?! What will you do then?!"

"You know exactly what I'm going to do!" Jenner shouted back, giving Sabateur a shove in return. "You've helped me do it twice already!"

"Oh, yes." Sabateur chuckled bitterly. "I remember now. You're going to attempt to transfer Bahamut's power to your new GF's."

Horrified, I covered my ears with both hands and squeezed my eyes shut. No, I didn't just hear that. I didn't hear anything. I'm not even standing next to them. I'm still inside Bahamut's cylinder, finally asleep and dreaming this Hyne forsaken scene…

Jenner ruined my theory. Very faintly, I could hear him tell Sabateur, "The chances of success are much higher this time, Malcolm. The first two failures were not as powerful as Bahamut. The Great Lord's cells are much stronger than the other two's. Once the cells are inserted into the created GF's, the transformation process will be complete. Then if the new GF's can handle Bahamut's cells, the rest of the transformation process should go smoothly."

I opened my eyes and took my hands away from my ears. I wasn't dreaming. Everything was real. Oh, Hyne!

Sabateur wasn't convinced by any of Jenner's words. "We don't know if anything will go smoothly, Lyle. We've never gotten past the part of inserting the Guardian's cells into the Creations. They have all died both times. The Creation's by somehow rejecting the Guardian's cells, and the Guardian's themselves because of the lack thereof their cells. Just what makes you so certain that it will work this time?"

"Because the samples I've taken from Bahamut show that he can withstand to lose a few thousand cells without dying."

Sabateur snorted. "That's a hell of a lot to go on."

"It's more to go on than we've ever had!"

"Then by all means, go for it!" Sabateur told him angrily. "Go ahead and continue with your dammed experiment! I'm not going to be around to see another failure on your hands anyway!"

Failure?!

"No!" I yelled, feeling my eyes well up with frightened tears. "You can't mean that! You can't leave Bahamut with Jenner knowing that he could possibly die! Please stay! Please stay and help try to prevent it! Please try to protect my Lord!"

It was no use. Sabateur began climbing into the boat yet again.

"I'm afraid that I can't let you leave this island with all the knowledge that you have of it," Jenner informed him icily.

Sabateur stopped and then jumped back onto the dock. Then he looked at Jenner and said tightly, "Was that a threat?"

Jenner wasn't given the chance to answer. Without warning, Sabateur reached back and then slammed his fist against Jenner's cheek. Yelping, he crashed face first onto the dock. There was a distinct cracking noise. Jenner's glasses had broken.

Above him, Sabateur was breathing extremely heavily. Then in a truly disgusted voice he told Jenner, "There isn't a thing happening on this island that I would want to brag about, so you needn't worry."

Jenner didn't respond. Perhaps he was unable to. Already, I could see a fast-forming bruise on his left cheek. He seemed dazed and disoriented.

I didn't feel a bit sorry for him and kicked him in his side. He didn't feel it of course, but I enjoyed doing it anyway. "Create new Guardians!" I spat out angrily as I kicked. "What makes you think you have the right to re-create a species that was created thousands of years ago by your true Creator? Just what makes _you_ so special? Who do you think you are? Hyne herself? I think not!"

The roar of a boat engine stopped me dead in my kicking tracks and I looked up. Sabateur had untied the boat and was now in the process of moving along the dock toward the cavern's exit. A single light was lit up on the hood.

"Stop!" I pleaded, abandoning Jenner and running along the dock beside the boat. "Please don't go! Bahamut might die! Don't you understand that?! Don't you even _care_ anymore?! He needs you! Malcolm!"

I had run out of dock space. Trying to stop, I found that my momentum was too great and was unable to avoid falling into the water. When I resurfaced, I caught a final glimpse of Sabateur's boat just before it exited the cavern. And then he was gone. Upset, I let out a scream of rage and began splashing angrily about in the water. Or rather, I tried to. The water just remained calm. For a moment, I forgot that splashing was impossible since I had no physical contact whatsoever with the water. The realization only upset me more and I let out yet another scream.

Suddenly, the familiar voice of the door caught my attention and I looked over. Jenner was in the process of opening it. Even from the water, I could see the fury on his face. And at that second, I knew where he was headed.

Bahamut! Panicked, I hoisted myself back up onto the deck and made a mad dash for the door. Jenner was just returning something to his pocket when I flew past him and through the door. For once, I was grateful for my exiled position. Obstacles such as doors, glass, walls, cages or anything of the sort were not a problem for me. I could step -or in this case, run- right through them.

I entered the room and headed straight into the cylinder. Bahamut was still asleep. But I knew he wouldn't be that way for long. Jenner was coming for him and Hyne only knew what he was going to do to my Lord now that Sabateur was gone. True, this whole institution wasn't exactly a Guardian's Paradise, but Sabateur had done his best to keep Bahamut comfortable. But now that he was gone…

Distraught, I stepped up to Bahamut and put my arms around his middle. Or I tried to. He was awfully wide. Then I rested my cheek against him and said, "Sabateur is gone, and Jenner is on his way here right now. The monster is trying to create his own GF's. That is why you're here. Jenner is going to inject these creations with your cells and then attempt to transfer your power to them. He's tried this twice before with two other Guardian's and the operation failed both times. All the subjects died."

I shivered at the thought of the same thing happening to Bahamut. Looking up at him, I then continued with, "He is mad, my Lord. Mad! If he performs this operation on you and you…and you…die," I had to force the word out. "Then he will just send his researchers out into the world to capture another Guardian and this whole process will begin again. And if _that_ operation fails, then I have every reason to believe that Jenner will once again just capture another. He has to be stopped before he makes our kind an endangered species."

I didn't know why I was telling him all this. Maybe it was because I was so afraid for him. Or maybe because deep down, I was hoping for a miracle. A miracle that would somehow relieve Bahamut from the worst of his ordeal. And for the past several weeks I had thought that the somewhat more merciful Dr. Malcolm Sabateur had been that miracle. Oh, why did he have to leave? Why did he have to abandon Bahamut?

There was a loud crash. Startled, I spun around and found Jenner standing in the doorway with his arms folded, anger still evident on his face. A footprint was visible on the door. He had kicked it open.

Without thinking, I held my arms out at the sides and tried to shield Bahamut.

Jenner strode into the room and positioned himself in front of the cylinder, looking up at Bahamut furiously. Too furiously. My worry went up another notch and then exploded into a full-fledged panic when Jenner began banging his fists against the glass. "Wake up!" he thundered loudly. "Wake up, you bastard! Open your damn eyes and look at me!"

The chains rustled as Bahamut stirred against them. Then I heard him give a grunt. Jenner stopped banging, but continued to glare up at him. I followed his gaze and studied Bahamut myself. He was awake and looking back down at Jenner. His eyes were unreadable.

There was a short silence as the two of them sized each other up. Then Jenner said, "Dr. Sabateur has left the island, so as of now you will disregard any of his previous conditions to your experimenting. You are under my full observation from now on. And as such, you are expected to be on your best behavior at all times. If you don't cooperate, then the consequences will be extremely dire. Do you understand that, Lord Bahamut? Dire. And I have no problem with making that a promise."

"Monster!" I threw at Jenner, still shielding Bahamut. "You are only threatening him now because you're afraid! With Sabateur gone, it's up to you to run that horrible transformation operation yourself! Coward!"

"What do you have to say to that, Your Lordship?" Jenner taunted with a terrible grin.

Bahamut didn't move. He just kept staring down into Jenner's eyes with that unreadable expression. This clearly bothered Jenner. He must have been expecting Bahamut to cower before him. Then with one last glare into Bahamut's eyes, Jenner walked over to the door and called out, "Trent! Crow! Wheel the Machine in here at once! We're going to extract his cells tonight!"

"No, you are not!" I screamed at him, feeling my panic escalate. "You will not extract _any_ of his cells, Jenner! I won't allow it!"

The Machine was rolled into the room a few minutes later. It was a tall, rectangular piece of machinery that was lined with several plastic bags around the top. Four tubes attached to four giant syringes with were hanging on the front. Smoke billowed all around it. Then Jenner began to hook up the paralyzing gas hose to the cylinder.

"No!" I screamed again, trying to cling to Bahamut and once again cursing my exile. "You can't do this! He's going to die, Jenner! You are going to kill him just like you killed your first two Guardians!"

The gas began seeping into the cylinder. Afraid, I frantically tried to fan it away from him. _Oh please, please don't breathe it in, my Lord! _I thought to myself _I can't help you! Fight it! Don't let them do this to you!_

My silent pleas proved to be as futile as my actions. Bahamut tried to struggle, but again the gas soon became too much for him to ignore and he had to take a breath. His eyes watered and the choked coughs returned. Then his body slumped in the restraints and I knew that it was too late. Sniffling, I leaned against him and tried put my arms around him again. "They can't do this to you," I whispered miserably. "They can't just risk your life like this. You don't deserve to die in this horrible place. You don't deserve to die for that monster Jenner."

The door to the cylinder opened and I heard the jangle of a set of keys. Another doctor stepped through me and then inserted a key into one of the locks. I wanted so badly to stop him. Damn my exile! 

"Wait, Trent," Jenner said suddenly. "Don't release him."

Huh? I turned my head just in time to see Jenner take a cautious step inside the cylinder. "Don't release him," he said again. Then he gestured to the machine and added, "I'd rather remove the cells while he's restrained in here."

Trent didn't question the order. Instead, he pocketed the keys and stepped back to help wheel the Machine inside the cylinder. I didn't want to see anything, so I kept my eyes shut. But since I couldn't fully shut off my hearing, I heard the shuffling of the equipment being switched on and Jenner giving out a few more instructions. Then they were ready.

At first, there was nothing but the sound of suction that came from the machine. But then all at once, Bahamut let out an agonizing sound that sounded very much like pain. Surprised, my eyes flew open and I glanced around me. One of the four syringes had been inserted into his right arm and the machine was slowly extracting the cells from his body. Then without warning, Jenner literally slammed the second syringe through my back and into Bahamut's stomach. I didn't feel anything of course, but I was horrified to discover that Bahamut could. He let out the same agonized sound and when I looked up at him, I saw raw agony in his eyes.

He wasn't completely numb!

The other doctor, Crow, realized this as well and ventured, "Dr. Jenner? He still has some feeling left. Should I inject him with a sedative since the gas seems a bit ineffective?"

"No," was Jenner's quick and quiet reply.

Crow was shocked. "No? But sir-."

"I said no!" Jenner told him in a fiercer voice. "Insert the last two syringes now! And be quick about it!"

Trent and Crow obeyed. But I closed my eyes once again before I could see where the other two syringes were placed. The only indication of the act came from my Lord's continuing sounds of agony. Anguished sobs built up in my throat and I tried unsuccessfully to choke them back. Crying wasn't going to help him. Nothing I could do was going to help him. And if everything went according to Jenner's previous cell removal operations, then no one was going to be able to help him. He would be dead. He would be gone.

The reality of it all was just too much for me to bear. Crying, I lowered my head and prayed to the only person who could help him. _Oh please my Lady. Please let him be all right. Please let him live through this torture. If he dies then…then I will have nothing left while exiled on this world. And I know that I deserve that kind of misery but…don't let Bahamut be the reason for my misery. Save him. Let him live on. Please don't take him away from me._

My Lord's painful cries went on and on. All I could do was hold on to him and continue to pray…

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

More than a week had passed since that night.

Bahamut remained in his cylinder, too weak to move or even open his eyes. The machines and modules that recorded his vital statistics showed understandably drastic changes in his health. His heart rate and his breathing percentage had dropped to alarming numbers. How he could even still be alive after that terrifying procedure astonished me.

But I was grateful. Perhaps in her own cosmic way, my Hyne still cared about me.

Dr. Jenner was beside himself with joy. The madman practically skipped to and fro around the Center, grinning smugly. The operation had finally been successful. Soon he would be able to move on to the next phase of the experiment. The extracted cells had been preserved and then placed inside the freezing unit. Jenner wanted to wait a couple of weeks before going any farther with the transformation process in order to give my Lord time to heal.

I was bitterly surprised. The monster was on a roll, yet he wanted to put everything on hold so Bahamut could regain his strength for his next torture treatment? How kind of him.

As for me, I lived in fear of his possible death. Granted he was still alive, but for how much longer? His health had _barely_ improved over the past ten days. Every breath he took seemed to take great willpower and his originally pale scales had completely faded into pure white. He spent three quarters of the days asleep. I couldn't blame him. I wouldn't want to look around this awful place any longer than I possibly had to, either.

So I spent every minute right beside him inside that cylinder. Gone were my sleepless night walks and curious adventures. I kept a close eye on him at all times until I passed out from pure exhaustion. Then I would always jerk myself awake and continue to watch him, worried that he may have died while I was thoughtlessly asleep. Thankfully, he was always still breathing.

Night had fallen on the tenth day. I was inside the cylinder, trying my hardest to avoid falling asleep. It was very late. Somewhere in the midnight hour. My head continued to become heavier and heavier, but I kept fighting to keep it upright. I couldn't go to sleep. Bahamut's vital signs had been a bit lower than usual for the past several hours and I was very worried. In the end, though, my exhaustion eventually won out yet again and I fell asleep sitting up.

A strange sound woke me from my slumber some time later. Blinking, I rubbed my eyes and found that I had fallen over onto the ground while I was sleeping. I glanced questioningly up at my Lord, who appeared to still be sleeping somewhat peacefully. He couldn't have made the noise. So who had?

I turned to study the room…and then gasped aloud in surprise.

Dr. Sabateur was leaning against the cylinder, his hands pressed onto the glass and an expression of sorrow on his face as he studied my Lord. The expression said everything. He regretted leaving. He was sorry for leaving. He wasn't going to leave again. Ever.

Jumping up, I put my hands over the ones he had pressed against the glass and gave him a relieved smile. "Thank you for coming back," I told him gratefully. "Only you can put a stop to my Lord's suffering. Please help him now."

I waited. Sabateur continued to just stare up at Bahamut. Then he glanced at the monitor that showed the vital statistics, frowned and then turned back to Bahamut. More staring.

Now a bit impatient, I said to him, "Doctor? What is it? You can see how weak he is. Please, do something!"

Nothing. He remained there in front of the cylinder.

What was wrong with him? He was just standing there. If he wasn't going to help Bahamut…then what was he doing back?

The door opened and Jenner strolled inside. He spotted Sabateur and then broke into a wide, sinister smile.

"Amazing, isn't it Malcolm?" he asked as he joined Sabateur by the cylinder. "He's still alive."

There was a slight pause before Sabateur agreed with him. "It is amazing, Lyle. I have to admit…I was mistaken. Bahamut survived the cell removal operation after all. I'm impressed. And intrigued."

Intrigued? A huge feeling of dread swept over me. I didn't like the sound of that.

Jenner smirked. "I thought that you would change your mind about the whole experiment once you heard the news. It's not every day that a medical scientist can make this kind of breakthrough."

"Indeed not," Sabateur admitted. "This is truly incredible. We must proceed at once with the next phase of the operation."

__

WHAT DID HE JUST SAY!?

"WHAT?!" I bellowed in horrified shock, hoping that I hadn't heard him right. Surely he couldn't…he couldn't…!

"I agree," Jenner replied. "We'll inject the cells into the GF's tonight and see how they fair. If they are still alive by dawn, then we'll begin the transfer of Bahamut's power to them."

Sabateur nodded and then ventured, "So…I'm forgiven then? For everything I've done? Arguing with you, running out on the project, punching you in the face…Have you accepted my apology?"

To my disgust, Jenner just waved a hand and answered with, "Forget about it, Malcolm. Consider it all stress-related. We've both been working on this project for a long time, haven't we?"

"Too long," Sabateur grumbled. "But now that it's all finally coming together, I say we call a truce. How 'bout it?"

A truce? Hyne! I watched in stunned silence as the two men shook hands.

The door opened once again and Crow entered the room. "Dr. Jenner?"

The monster turned to face him. "Yes?"

Crow pointed outside the door. "The Electronics Team is having a few problems with the Central computer's mainframe. Can I bother you to please come and take a look at it?"

"Now?" Jenner was perplexed. "Crow, I'm about to continue with my experiment! The biggest experiment of my life and you want me to take a look at the damn mainframe? I don't have the time!"

I finally found my voice. And my sarcasm. "Isn't that always the way? Just when you thought that it was safe to play Hyne, something else has to come up. What _is_ the world coming to?" 

Crow looked perplexed as well. "There's some sort of glitch in the mainframe, Doctor. It's preventing us from reading your GF's vital stats and from getting a visual on them. All screens have gone black."

"Damn!" Jenner rubbed his head in agitation. "Why do these things have to cause problems now?"

Sabateur was thoughtful. "I've got an idea, Lyle. You go check on the mainframe while I thaw out the cells and inject them into the GF's. How does that sound?"

There was a short pause. Then Jenner relented with, "All right, Malcolm. Thaw and inject the cells, and then wait for me inside the main room on the fourth floor. I'll join you as soon as I'm finished."

Sabateur nodded and then headed for the freezing unit. Then Jenner and Crow headed out the door.

I watched as Sabateur quickly gathered up the plastic bags full of my Lord's cells. He seemed to be in a hurry. But of course he was! He was now once again part of history in the making. The sight of him was sickening and I told him so. Naturally, it didn't stop him from placing the bags into a machine to be thawed. Then when they were finished, he picked them up and headed out. But before he left, he stopped and looked at Bahamut one last time.

I was beyond furious. "Just go," I told Sabateur angrily. "Because believe me, there isn't anything else you can possibly do that will hurt my Lord any worse. Betrayal is the ultimate sin where Bahamut is concerned. There is nothing that he despises more." I paused and then added remorsefully, "And I should know."

And then, Sabateur said four firm words that absolutely confused me. "Hold on, Lord Bahamut."

Then with that he walked out of the room, gripping the four bags of cells tightly in his hands.

I stared after him. Hold on? Hmm. Sitting down in front of Bahamut, I folded my arms in front of me and pondered the words. Just what were they supposed to mean? 'Hold on, the worst is yet to come'? Or could he have meant…'Hold on…I'm going to get you out of this'?

"I don't know, my Lord," I told Bahamut slowly, glancing up at him yet again. He was still asleep. "Should we trust him? I mean, Hyne knows that I'm a terrible judge of character. At first, I was thankful for all that he had done for you and then a few minutes ago, I was ready to kill him for betraying you. But now…with his parting words…" I shrugged. "I don't know what to think anymore."

Ten minutes passed. Then the lights and equipment inside the room all flickered a few times. Odd. Then suddenly, Sabateur entered the room slowly and then faced the security cameras. The bags of cells were still in his hands.

"You still have the cells?" I questioned aloud while observing him curiously. After a moment he walked over to one of the cameras, pulled something out of his pocket and then slipped it into a slot the was on the side of it. A red light went on above the lens. Then after a quick glance at his watch he ran back to the door, locked it and then ran over to the cylinder. His face was flushed with what looked like both nervousness and excitement.

"What in the name of Holy Hyne do you think you are doing?" I asked him as he opened the cylinder door. Brave man. He stepped right through me and up to Bahamut. Then he pulled another sedative syringe out of his pocket and stuck it into my Lord's arm, who barely twitched at the feel of it. I believed his nerves must have all been frayed now.

But again, what was Sabateur doing?

He didn't speak. Instead he went quickly about setting up the Machine. He placed all four plastic bags back around the top of it. Then after pausing to glance at his watch again, he carefully inserted the four giant syringes into Bahamut. Now I _really_ wasn't sure what to think. Was he going to extract more cells? Why? Weren't four full plastic bags enough?

Bahamut's eyes remained closed. If he had any idea of what was happening to him, he gave no sign of it. Sabateur looked up into his face a few times as he worked. But he didn't seem afraid. It was more like…he _wanted_ Bahamut to see him for some reason. But…why?

When everything was hooked up, Sabateur went back over to the bags and then placed a hand on them. Then, he proceeded to once again say a word that confused me. "Cure!"

I recognized it. All Guardian's were able to use that magic spell. But…I'd never heard of a _human_ casting it! Not even when they had Guardian's absorbed into them. If a Guardian wanted to use magic, then it would have to be released from the human in order to cast it. Before my exile, Guardian's were only able to help the humans mentally. Like the human I had killed trying to kill Bahamut. He had his own knowledge and ways of combat, but with Bahamut absorbed into him his knowledge, speed and agility had tripled. But…that was about as far as it went. So how was Sabateur able to cast that 'Cure' spell? And again…why?

Suddenly, it hit me. He was healing Bahamut! And in an ingenious way, too. Internally. I watched in amazement as the bags of cells lit up in an array of blue and white colors. Inside of them, the cells glowed as well. Seeing them, Sabateur flipped a switch and the glowing cells made there way through the four tubes and back into Bahamut's body. Soon, he was glowing as well.

"I'll be dammed," I muttered. 

Sabateur smiled, apparently pleased. Then after checking his watch for the third time, he told Bahamut, "I only have a few more minutes here, but I want you to know that when you wake up, you will be back at full strength. Those restraints around you will be completely useless. Break out of them and then fly away. Everyone here will be too surprised and too scared to try to stop you. Be free, Lord Bahamut. And maybe one day…one day you'll be able to forgive me for all that's happened to you here."

My eyes became misty. Sabateur really was a good man.

"I've poisoned the other would-be GF's," he continued, "They should all be dead by the time you wake up. I'm also going to evacuate the Research Center and then destroy it. Nobody is going to have the chance to find and follow the work that has been done here. Your kind will be safe from other people like Dr. Jenner…and myself."

There was a catch in his voice and he had to take a deep breath. I suspected that his eyes were beginning to get misty, too. At any rate, Sabateur pulled himself together long enough to finish with, "Good luck to you, Bahamut."

I thought about all that Sabateur was sacrificing in helping my Lord to escape. His job, his colleagues, his respect. There could have been a whole list of possibilities. But he was giving them all up to make things right. He was giving it all up to…redeem himself.

No, I take my earlier statement back. Sabateur wasn't a good man. He was a great one.

Grateful, I put a hand on top of his head and said softly, "Good luck to you, too, Malcolm Sabateur." 


	4. The Destruction

Chapter Four- The Destruction

To say that waiting for my Lord to awaken was a nerve-wracking affair would be an understatement. I paced nervously back and forth inside of the cylinder, worried. 

Don't get me wrong, I was ecstatic about what Sabateur had done for him. My Lord was going to wake up at full strength and then be able to hopefully escape from this evil place. With me by his side, of course but…that wasn't why I was worried.

I was worried about what frame of mind Bahamut was going to be in. After weeks and weeks of torture…how was he going to react once he was free? Would he just simply try to escape? Or…would he try to take revenge on Jenner and his research team for all that they had done to him? The ladder thought concerned me. If he tried to take his revenge and they were somehow able to capture him again…what would happen? I couldn't bear it if the experiment were to continue. And if it did…would Sabateur once again try to set him free?

Sabateur. I was worried about him, too. What was to become of him after this? Would anyone figure out what he had done? And if so, what would they do to him? Many terrifying possible ending scenarios for both him and my Lord were running through my head. I tried hard not to think about them.

Perhaps I should say another prayer.

I continued to pace the cylinder, feeling myself grow more anxious as the minutes passed. Yet my anxiousness puzzled me. Bahamut knew how to take care of himself. Once awake, he wouldn't be as vulnerable to the researches as he was when they had captured him. He would be able to fully defend himself. So what was I so anxious about?

Maybe I was anxious because I wanted so badly for him to escape. And I have to admit that the idea still made me feel strange. If someone had told me six thousand years ago that I would one day actually care about Bahamut, I would have laughed at them. Me, care about the most infuriating Guardian in the entire Guardian Realm? Ridiculous! Positively insane! But as I paced back and forth in front of him, I thought back to what happened the night his cells were removed and realized that I truly did care for him. If I didn't, then I wouldn't have been so upset and prayed to Hyne for the first time in sixty centuries for his safety.

I stopped pacing and looked up at him. His scales had returned to their original dark blue color and his breathing was now both deep and even. He looked and sounded just like his old self. (Well, his old _sleeping_ self). A glance at the clock that hung on the wall told me that he was going to wake up soon. Before Sabateur had left last night, he had mentioned to Bahamut that he should be fully awake by six a.m. The time read late in the five a.m. hour. Not quite time yet.

I went back to pacing, while at the same time thinking that it was amazing how much I had changed over the years. I had learned a lot from my exile. Didn't make me like it any better, but it had helped me nonetheless. I learned that there were other far more important things in the world to worry about than my own feelings. I had been a Guardian, a servant to the Mortals. I was supposed to serve them first and myself second. I had forgotten that.

I had also learned that all my old hatred aside, I really didn't _know_ Bahamut on a personal level at all. His likes, he dislikes, his favorite things…I didn't know any of it. He was just barely a little more than a stranger to me. I suppose that once upon a time, I never really cared to know him at all. And I regretted that, for there were many things about him that I was curious about now. But unless I was around someone who asked him the right questions, I would never know anything.

Well, I suppose that's what I got for being such a horrible person.

Time continued to crawl by. This was turning out to be the longest last several minutes of my exiled life. I glanced back at Bahamut and was both surprised and pleased to see him move around a bit. He wasn't awake, but he _was_ finally beginning to come around a little. That had to mean that he wouldn't be out for much longer. My pacing ceased again and I stood before him in anticipation.

All of a sudden, an ear-splitting alarm went off. Startled, I jumped a mile at the sudden sound and looked around the room. Red lights flashed and a voice came over the Research Center's PA system, announcing for everyone to evacuate the premises. Outside the door, I could hear people shouting and running around. It sounded like absolute bedlam.

Sabateur. He had pulled the switch, just as he had said he would.

Another sound caught my attention. It was the sound of rustling chains. I turned to face Bahamut again…and gasped.

He was wide-awake and glaring around the room. His great eyes had returned to their normal color of glowing green and were narrowed into two vicious slits. Smoke was seeping out of his nostrils. His teeth were bared.

I backed away a few steps out of intimidation. He looked positively _enraged_ and all at once, I realized that there was no way he was just going to escape. No, his expression clearly suggested otherwise. It suggested revenge_. _It suggested _pain_.

It suggested…death.

And I had no doubt that he would follow up on it.

He faced forward and focused over my shoulder at the door. Then a bright, white glow began forming at his mouth. 

Hyne! Knowing what was coming, I immediately dropped to the floor. Ridiculous, I know. He couldn't hurt me. But anyone, exiled or not, would have done the same. Sure enough, a ball of white energy erupted from inside of Bahamut, tearing apart the wire that was holding hie mouth shut. The ball shot through the glass cylinder, across the room and into the door. The explosion from the impact was incredible. Then I watched in wonder as Bahamut let out a mighty roar and broke both his wings and tail free from the ceiling restraint. Then he proceeded to break the many chains that were wrapped around him. Each of them snapped so easily that anyone could have sworn that they were made of paper. And then with another roar, Bahamut flew from the cylinder and out the door.

I could hear the terrified screams of the researchers. Crashes and explosions could also be heard along with the continuing alarms. Then after asking myself why I wasn't following him, I tore out the door and into the main lab.

It was a sight. In the space of five seconds, my Lord had managed to turn it into a frenzied inferno. Computers, desks, tables and other various things around the room were on fire while people were scurrying around in fright. Holes were everywhere in the walls, all fairly large. I studied the open door that led to the dock and the stairs that led to the next floor. Which way had Bahamut gone?

There was only one way to find out. I would have to check both. I headed for the dock first. 

Panicked people were everywhere. On the dock, in boats, in the water. It was complete chaos. I didn't see my Lord anywhere but I did note that some of the people had already started for the cavern's exit while others were in close pursuit. This was a great relief. So far, Sabateur's plan was going along just as he had planned. Bahamut was awake, the evacuation switch had been pulled and the researchers were abandoning the island. Now all that he had to do was destroy the building.

Wait. Destroy the building? Oh no! Bahamut didn't know about that! Sabateur could quite possibly destroy my Lord in the process!

Now more afraid than ever, I sprinted back into the main lab and then ran up the steps to the next floor. Looking around, I found pretty much the same scene as the previous floor. Objects were on fire and researches were in a frenzy. They were also heading down the stairs toward-I assumed-the dock in order to make their escape. But…there was still no sign of Bahamut. Hyne! I never should have let him get a head start on me.

I kept going up. All the doors to the rooms and floor levels were hanging open. The evacuation alarm must have opened them all automatically because no one was stopping to talk to the doors. Because of this, I was able to hear the many crashes going on inside one of the rooms on the fourth floor. I recognized it as the room that held Jenner's GF's. Who were all hopefully (Hyne willing!) dead and finally at peace.

The crashes continued and then I heard Sabateur's voice shouting, "Get away from him, Lyle! God knows you've already done enough!"

Jenner! What was he doing to my Lord now? I ran into the room and was greeted by the sight of the two doctors grappling over what looked like a gun of some sort. Then after a quick glance around the room I found Bahamut lying half-propped up in a corner. Two small, odd-looking objects were embedded into one of his wings. He seemed to be fighting to keep his eyes open and all of a sudden, I remembered Jenner's words in the pub and realized what had happened.

__

"He attacked two of my assistants before I could shoot him with a tranquilizer bullet."

That's what Jenner and Sabateur were fighting over! It was a tranquilizing gun! My Lord was in danger of falling asleep again!

I rushed to his side. If _one_ of those bullets had put him out before, then two would most definitely finish him off. I settled myself just below his head and looked up at him with helpless eyes. He seemed very groggy and I shook my head wearily.

"You're getting slow in your old age my Lord," I admonished him sadly as he struggled to overcome the effects of the drug. Once again, I couldn't help him and it upset me a great deal. And horrible as it may sound, I was very disappointed in Bahamut. And I didn't hesitate to tell him so. "This was a very big mistake, my Lord. I understand how you must be feeling, but what you should have done was just try to escape. That would have been the best thing for you." I stopped to think for a moment before adding, "Vengeance, an eye for an eye… these concepts almost never come about the way you want them to. It's all right to hate, but you cannot let your hatred cloud your path to the future. If you do, then…you won't have much of a future."

This was of course, all true. I had experienced it all first hand. I sighed and then looked back at Sabateur and Jenner. They were still wrestling over the gun while I finished with, "Don't follow in my tragic footsteps, my Lord. Irresponsible hatred can be your worst enemy. Look what it has done to me." Pause. "And look where it has gotten you now."

Another crash caught my attention and I turned to the two doctors again. Sabateur then somehow managed to grab Jenner and proceeded to throw him over a gurney that had been holding one of Jenner's creations. Both he and the creation crashed to the floor.

Neither of them moved.

Sabateur took advantage of Jenner's position and hurriedly removed the bullets from Bahamut's wing. By this time, my Lord's eyes were closed and he his full weight was leaning against the wall. He was asleep.

"Damn," Sabateur muttered, tossing the bullets aside and then kneeling beside the two of us. "I should have known that you would stick around and cause trouble for yourself. I can only do so much for you, Lord Bahamut. Only so much. You're gonna have to help me out so you can get out of here."

I felt a small twinge of relief. Sabateur would help him again and then hopefully, hopefully, my Lord would find the nearest available exit and we would both be free of this evil place before Sabateur destroyed it.

He closed his eyes and then took a deep breath. I watched him, curious to know what he was doing. But then as I watched, I saw movement over his shoulder. Jenner!

"Watch out!" I shouted at Sabateur.

It was useless. As soon as I had said the words, Jenner pointed the gun at him and then pulled the trigger. A loud BANG pierced the air.

Sabateur's eyes flew wide open and he let out a gasp of surprise as the bullet hit him directly in the back. Woozy, he then fell forward onto Bahamut and then rolled over onto his back. His eyes were still open.

"Oh no," I whispered as Jenner made his way over to us. He had taken down Sabateur. My Lord was once again defenseless against this monster of a madman.

"You should have just left him to me Malcolm," Jenner told his partner in an indifferent voice, pointing the gun at Sabateur's middle. "The Great Lord was on the verge of helping me make scientific history. _I_ was on the verge of making history. And I was more than willing to share it all with you. But you didn't want it. You _still_ don't want it. I can see that now."

Incredibly, Sabateur's eyes were still open. Barely, but open nonetheless. He let out a faint chuckle and replied with, "Very good, Lyle. Is there anything else about me that you are now just seeing?"

Jenner seemed to take a moment to think. Then glaring down at Sabateur he said, "You planned Bahamut's escape and this evacuation. That's why you came back to the island. You somehow healed Bahamut and then killed my GF's. Am I correct in saying that you did it while injecting Bahamut's cells into their bodies?"

To my surprise, Sabateur snickered and answered smugly, "No, that wasn't how I did it. Your creations were never injected with Bahamut's cells. If you'll remember, Crow came into Bahamut's room last night and asked you to take a look at the computer's mainframe. He mentioned that all video screens had gone black. The video screens that were watching _your_ GF's."

A light seemed to turn on in Jenner's eyes. His aim with the gun wavered and he took another step closer to Sabateur. "Crow was in on this with you. _He_ caused the glitch that blackened the monitors and then distracted me while you killed the GF's without being seen by the video cameras."

Sabateur nodded slowly at Jenner's scenario and I could tell that the tranquilizing solution was starting to get to him. His voice was coming out slow and strained. "That's right, Lyle. I poisoned the hell out of your creations. But there's more. Once that glitch was repaired, there was another one. Remember? Only this time, it concerned the cameras in Bahamut's room. Those blacked out next."

"But guess who caused the glitch that time? Me. I slipped a small virus card into the camera and disabled it for a short period of time. Crow made sure to keep you and everyone away from the screens until just the right time so you wouldn't see me sabotaging the camera. Then in that short period of time I proceeded to inject the cells back into Bahamut and cure him."

So that's what he had been doing with the camera last night. I was impressed. Sabateur really had planned this well. "Brilliant!" I told him with a sincere -yet scared- smile. "Absolutely brilliant."

Jenner was furious. So furious in fact, that he spit on Sabateur and said, "You disgust me, Malcolm. You dream up the idea to create our own Guardian Forces and then when we finally come close, you destroy the whole project. Months and months of both research and experimenting down the damn drain. And for what? Your conscious to be clear again? Impossible! You've done just as much as I have. Your guilt is going to follow you around for the rest of your pitiful life."

If that disturbed Sabateur he sure didn't show it. Instead, he chuckled again and then said, "Now, now Lyle. Calm down. Don't you want to hear how I cured Bahamut so quickly and with such powerful results? Aren't you even a tiny bit curious about how his strength is so great? I really hope you are because I am just _dying_ to tell you."

Without waiting for Jenner to answer, Sabateur went right on with, "Re-inserting Bahamut's cells was but only the beginning. Even when they were back in place, it would have taken weeks for him to fully recover. So since his time was running short, I had no choice but to speed things up a little bit. And I did it by…" He stopped.

Jenner was curious. "By what?"

Sabateur snickered again. "By casting a Cure spell on the cells before injecting them."

All the color drained from Jenner's face. Then in a quivering voice, he asked, "What?"

A cruel twinkle was now in Sabateur's eye. But I was still just as confused about the spell as I was last night. How had he done it?

"By casting a Cure spell on the cells," Sabateur repeated with a triumphant smile. "See Lyle, I knew of a man who had been studying Guardian Forces as well. In fact, he was the first human ever recorded scientifically to capture a GF. He studied it and became familiar with it's power. Then later, with the help of a Sorceress, he was able to combine the sorceress' power with the GF's, and then was able to absorb it into his own body. With this power, he was able to draw and cast magic spells. He called this process…'Para-magic'."

Visibly upset, Jenner continued to quiver. Obviously, this information bothered him. Then in a hoarse voice he demanded, "Who is this man? Who is he? And how do you know him?"

Sabateur coughed. Amazingly, he was still awake. But how? How was he avoiding sleep? I glanced at Bahamut. He still hadn't moved.

"His name is Dr. Odine," Sabateur told Jenner finally, "And I know him because he lives in my home country of Esthar. He was the person who taught me Para-magic. Once I mastered the technique, I was drawing spells from all kinds of places and stocking them for future use. I was in my boat on my way to Esthar when Crow got a hold of me on my phone and explained what you had done to Bahamut while removing his cells."

Sabateur paused to weakly shake his head. "How could you do that to him, Lyle? How could you extract his cells while he could still feel the pain, and then refuse to give him a stronger sedative? You're a despicable man, and you deserved to have your past research discovered and then made successful by another man. Just as you deserve to have this research halted and then destroyed by me."

__

Jenner had been trying to discover Para-magic?! Unbelievable. He must have been failing before Sabateur approached him with the idea of creating the new GF's, and then just given up the research altogether once he began making progress with the new experiment. No wonder he was so upset!

It must have been this bad news that made Jenner make his next move. Quick as a flash, he dropped a knee into Sabateur's abdomen and then put another three bullets into his chest. Sabateur made several choking sounds and I turned my face away in horror. Then when I looked at Jenner again I saw pure madness in his wild eyes. Madness. There was no other word for the expression. If he didn't completely qualify as a monster before, then he certainly did now.

"Shouldn't have thrown that in my face," Jenner coldly informed the fallen doctor as Sabateur's eyes finally closed. Then throwing the gun aside, Jenner stood up and headed over to a nearby shelf. He then removed a handful of chains and dropped them behind him before reaching for more. No doubt, they were for my Lord.

Sabateur had failed. I laid a hand over his chest and gave him another smile. Only this time, it was a sad and grateful one. "Thank you for trying to save him, Malcolm. Thank you for sacrificing everything to keep my Lord safe. I'll never forget you for it. And if my Lord knew what you have done, I'm sure that he would feel the same way."

Sabateur tried to move his lips and for one insane moment, I actually thought he was going to answer me. But then he opened his mouth and mumbled, "Esuna." 

A green light surrounded Bahamut from all sides. Then once it disappeared, he stirred and then opened his eyes.

An Esuna spell! I let out a silent cheer but then quickly ordered, "Now go, my Lord! Get out of here! Right now!"

He sat up and then glanced down at Sabateur. When he saw that the doctor was unconscious he then switched his gaze over at Jenner. The man was still pulling chains of the shelf. He had no idea that Bahamut was now awake and staring daggers at him.

"Not again!" I pleaded. "Please Bahamut! Forget about him! Let's just leave!"

Jenner knelt down and began retrieving the chains from the floor. He didn't notice Bahamut rise from the floor and then start toward him. I followed him, uncertain of just what he was going to do.

I didn't have to wonder for long. Bahamut reached down, grabbed Jenner by the back of his jacket and then yanked him up until he was eye-level with my Lord. I couldn't see the look on the madman's face from where I stood, but I could tell by his body language that he wasn't just scared, he was _petrified_.

Good.

"Ho-how?" Jenner sputtered fearfully, bringing his hands up in front of him in defense. "How can you be awake? I-I shot you twice!"

Bahamut growled and then shook Jenner practically until his teeth rattled. Then in his deep voice, he told Jenner, "Does it matter? You would not care if I never woke up. All you care about is using me to continue your research. Whether I am dead or alive, you do not care one way or the other. As long as my body is still here, you will do whatever you wish with it."

Truer words had never been spoken and unfortunately for Jenner, he seemed aware of that as well. The doctor clamed up and shifted his gaze to the floor. I moved underneath his dangling form and studied his face. His apparent fear was great.

"Please don't hurt me," he whimpered softly.

I turned my attention to Bahamut. His expression didn't waver as he said bitterly, "Do not hurt you? Why should I not hurt you? If I had asked you in the beginning not to harm me, would you have complied?"

"Excellent question," I observed aloud, looking back at Jenner and then waiting for his answer.

Jenner knew he was beat. "Probably not," he told Bahamut truthfully. "But you must understand, Bahamut. My team and I, we-."

"Enough," My Lord interrupted, giving him another violent shake. "I have heard enough out of you. Your weak pleas do nothing for you but make your situation worse. What makes you believe that I must _understand_ what you and your team has done to me? Are you suggesting that I just _accept_ all of the tests, injections, surgeries and everything else? Do you really believe that I will just _accept_ all of these things without protest or regret? If you do, then you are sorely mistaken, Doctor."

Sorely mistaken. I couldn't have put it better myself. Proud, I beamed at Bahamut and said, "Well done, my Lord."

There was a long silence between the two of them after that. Jenner still looked petrified and Bahamut seemed to be contemplating what to do next. On the one hand, he had his freedom. He could throw Jenner across the room and then flee the island, safe and sound. Or on the other hand, he (literally) had the evil Dr. Jenner in his grasp. With one simple twist, Bahamut could easily tear Jenner's head right off of his shoulders and revenge would be his.

Which would Bahamut choose?

The longer I waited, the tenser I became. Did I want him to kill Jenner? I had to admit that a big part of me did. I had never met a human who deserved to die more than Jenner. The man had both tortured and killed Guardians, humans and creatures alike for the sake of his research. All of which, I am sure, he didn't give a damn about personally. And in addition to that, he had had no intention of giving up his GF experiment if he had failed with Bahamut. No two ways about it, the man was evil. And he deserved death.

But…the bigger part of me didn't want Bahamut to kill him. Call it my newfound sense of compassion if you will, but that wasn't how I saw it. I remembered what I had said to my Lord when I had first found him lying in the room. I had told him not to follow in my tragic footsteps because irresponsible hatred could be his worst enemy. Bahamut might not agree with that where Jenner was concerned, but given my experience with killing a Mortal you would think that my Lord would at least _consider_ my words. Killing Mortals had once come with a terrible repercussion. Would it still if Bahamut killed Jenner?

I wasn't sure. I liked to think that Hyne cared enough about Bahamut to let his killing an evil human slide. But then again if she cared so much about my Lord, then how could she have allowed this whole ordeal to happen to him?

So many unanswered questions…

Bahamut made up his mind. With another roar he grabbed the unconscious Dr. Sabateur with his other hand and flew out of the room with both men in his grasp. This time, I didn't wait to follow him and we headed toward the dock. Thank Hyne for the already open doors. Without them, I believed my Lord would have just crashed right through them without a second thought, thus injuring poor Dr. Sabateur. Bahamut didn't know that Sabateur had been who had set him free. If he _was_ planning on killing Jenner…would he kill the unconscious Sabateur as well?

I hoped not. Oh, if only Bahamut knew what Sabateur had done for him!

The dock was empty. Bahamut flew over the water and then out the cavern's exit. I jumped into the water and hurried to the exit after him, thinking that I had a pretty good idea about what he was going to do. Sure enough, I was just outside the cavern when I looked up and saw Bahamut throw both of the doctors far out into the ocean. So far, in fact, that they completely disappeared from my vision before I could see them land in the water. I couldn't even hear a splash.

Jenner was gone. And…Sabateur was gone as well.

I lowered my head. The poor man. He had truly been trying to do the right thing by attempting to redeem his past actions. And now that Bahamut was free, I believed in my heart that Sabateur had been successful. May his soul be kept safe.

Minutes passed. Many minutes. Bahamut remained suspended in the sky, looking out over the waters. Maybe he was waiting to see if either Jenner or Sabateur were trying to make their way back toward the Research Center. Or perhaps he was thinking about what he should do next.

I had an idea. Fly like the dickens away from this evil place.

But of course, if he did that it would be a bit difficult for me to keep up with him while in the water. I couldn't exactly swim, but I didn't exactly sink, either. It's hard to describe how I move through water while I am in it. For some reason, I am able to just walk through it as if it is not even there. Why this is possible, I do not know. It just is.

More minutes passed. Then suddenly Bahamut turned around and flew over me back inside the cavern. I was shocked. What was he doing? Why was he going back inside? What was the stubborn dragon up to now?

I followed him back inside the cavern, muttering to myself. He sailed through the door and into the main room of the floor where he had been held. Everything was still on fire and the smoke was thick in the air. Bahamut coughed a couple of times before raising his arms and casting three Water spells across the room. The fire was instantly extinguished but some the smoke remained. So did my curiosity. What was he doing? And why? 

He headed up the steps to the rest of the floors, pausing only to extinguish the rest of the fires he had started before going on to the next. He checked every room on each floor, a move (I assumed) he was making in order to search for any possible survivors or stragglers. Not surprisingly, he bypassed the room on the fourth floor. I didn't blame him. Those creations of Jenner's were enough to disconcert even the toughest of beings.

Bahamut moved on to the fifth floor and headed into the room. I recognized it immediately. It was the room that held the yet-to-be-experimented-on monsters. The Blood Souls, Grendels, trio of Ruby Dragons and other various monsters were all still locked up inside their individual, electric cages. They eyed Bahamut suspiciously as he stood in the middle of the room.

My Lord eyed them right back. He was not the least bit uncomfortable or intimidated. They all knew who he was. Yet they were just as suspicious as I was about what he was doing there.

There was a long silence. Bahamut had begun to walk slowly back and forth in front of their cages, his face pinched in a seriously thoughtful expression. So serious, that I would have given anything to glimpse into his mind and see what he was thinking. It was something big. I could feel it.

I could also feel that I probably wasn't going to like whatever it was. His continuing refusal to leave the Center was enough to help this feeling.

Sure enough, Bahamut came to a stop and announced in his deep voice, "The humans are gone. They have abandoned this Facility and have headed out on the ocean's waters. Hopefully, they will not return. So because of this, I am going to set you all free."

I had forgotten how powerful a Guardian truly was. To my ears, Bahamut was speaking in our native Guardian language. But to each individual monster, he was speaking in their language. A roar of cheers and appreciative growls echoed throughout the room at my Lord's words.

Satisfied with their reactions, Bahamut headed over to the computer module that controlled the cages and slammed his fists into it. Bits and pieces of the module exploded around the room and hundreds of exposed wires crackled and sparked with electricity. The charge on the cages flickered a few times and then disappeared completely. When it was gone, all of the monsters began clawing or biting their way out of the cages. The Ruby Dragons needed Bahamut's help because their cages were fireproof. The rest were able to make their way out of their prisons without hardly any problem.

Once they were all free, Bahamut motioned for them all to gather around him in the middle of the room. I stepped over to stand beside him as they all obeyed without hesitation. Bahamut had released them from their horror and I could see that they all thought that this was the least they could do for him.

I'll be honest, though. This circle of monsters around my Lord only fueled my feeling of dread at what he was thinking. I moved closer to him and then put an anxious hand on his left wing, hoping that he wasn't about to make another mistake. I could only take so much.

When he had all of the monsters' attention, Bahamut looked at them and said, "We have all been here inside this prison for a long time. The humans were the ones responsible for bringing us here as their subjects and experiments. Now, I cannot speak for all of you but my own personal experience inside of this facility was nothing less than gruesome. The humans-_the Mortals_-that I have sworn to protect snatched me from my freedom while I slept and brought me to this terrible place to be experimented on. They drugged me, tortured me, cut me open and stole my cells. My _cells_. The very things that are now keeping me alive even as we speak. I am no longer Immortal, but this fact did not sway the human's decisions. Why they wanted me and all of you is still a mystery to me."

There was a general muttering from the monsters. The one of the Ruby Dragons spoke up with, "We heard that they wanted to create new Guardian Forces. Like you yourself, Lord Bahamut. We were being merged with humans to create new bodies, which were in turn were going to be injected with your cells. The human named Dr. Jenner was overseeing the entire project."

Bahamut met this news with silence, but I could see the expression of horror and dismay both on his face and in his eyes. The thought of creating artificial Guardians seemed to disturb him more than it had disturbed me. As it should, I suppose. He had been the Lord and Leader of all Guardians. Having a false Guardian follow him would have troubled him very much. He was the Leader of The Great Hyne's Guardians. Not The Evil Madman Jenner's Guardians. The whole thought must have upset him a great deal.

There was another long silence as Bahamut lowered his head in apparent thought. The monsters watched him, quietly awaiting his next words. I watched him, too. What could he be thinking about now?

Finally, he raised his head and looked at them again. Then in a firm tone, he went on with, "If the humans really were going to commit an act as horrible as that, then I must make sure that they do not have a second opportunity to try. They must never be aloud to continue this kind of experimenting inside this facility. My Lady Hyne never would have allowed it. For it was she who created not only myself, but the others of my kind and the humans as well. And it is my belief that she -and she alone- should be permitted to create any other kind of life form on this world."

"Therefore, I have decided to remain here to insure that no other humans enter this facility and attempt to continue this Dr. Jenner's experiment."

What?! He wanted to stay and _protect_ this Hyne forsaken place?!

The monsters all exchanged glances with each other, seemingly as surprised as I was. Then after a moment, an Anacondor slithered up to Bahamut and slowly hissed, "To stay here alone would be extremely dangerous, Lord Bahamut. Please allow me to stay here and help you stand guard."

Bahamut bent his head to look into the Anacondor's yellow eyes. His voice sounded amazed. "You would give up your newly restored freedom to assist me here? Here, in this place where you have been kept prisoner?"

The Anacondor bowed its head. "If it pleases you, Lord Bahamut. I also do not wish to have the humans' research continued. If I can stay and help you prevent it from happening, then I would be content."

There was yet another silence. My Lord seemed to be at a loss for words. Then one by one, each of the monsters stood up and declared their decision to remain with Bahamut as well. I looked at all of them in wonder. These were not the same, hot-tempered monsters that I had once kept watch over while they lived on the moon. These monsters seemed to have compassion and a sense of duty they felt that they had to fulfill. But…why? Why would they want to do this?

I already knew the answer. Because Bahamut had freed them and now…now they wanted to return the favor. My Lord could have just left the island without ever knowing that they were all still locked inside. But he didn't. He returned and rescued them. And because of that, they were all ready to help him in any way that they could.

It was almost too amazing to comprehend.

Bahamut agreed and thanked the monsters. Then he began issuing requests. He wanted every possible entrance and exit around the Research Center barricaded, all the doors closed and locked with the pressure system and his cylinder moved to the top floor. The monsters scurried around in haste to fulfill the requests. The Ruby Dragons helped Bahamut repair his broken cylinder and then flew it up to the top floor. The group of Grand Mantis' caved in the entrance to the cavern, while both the Grendals and Blood Souls barricaded the rest of the entrances and exits in the building. Then all the doors were closed and locked tight by the Anacondors.

When everything was finished, all the monsters once again gathered around Bahamut. Only this time, they were all gathered on the top floor.

Bahamut studied each of them once again. Then he said, "You have all chosen to stay. In doing so, I hope you all realize the sacrifice you are making."

The monsters all nodded simultaneously. "We know, Lord Bahamut," a Grendal spoke up. "We accept and stand by our decisions."

My Lord nodded in return. "Thank you. All of you."

The group of monsters then spread out around the first floor and made themselves comfortable. Bahamut watched them for a moment before returning to the cylinder. I followed him and watched as he pulled the last of the restraints and chains from inside and then tossed them out into a corner. Then he closed the door and raised his arms. A bright blue light surrounded the cylinder from all sides, glowing periodically off and on. I wasn't sure of the meaning behind this, but I was sure that Bahamut must have had a good reason for it.

He then sat down in the middle of the cylinder and folded his wings behind him. Then with what sounded like a great sigh, Bahamut leaned back against the glass and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, I let a sigh of my own. It was over. Jenner was gone, his researchers were gone, the Creations were gone and both the monsters and my Lord were finally safe. And I say 'safe' instead of 'free' because…well, because in a way they were all still prisoners inside this awful place. Only this time, it was of their own free will. And to be honest, I didn't know whether to be proud of my Lord or angry with him for his decision.

It probably didn't matter, though. He was safe, and that's all I really cared about. And as long as he kept himself safe, I would be happy.

With that thought, I settled myself next to him and closed my own eyes, whispering, "It's all over, my Lord. You are safe now. And I want you to know that even though I don't fully understand your decision to stay here…I am still going to stay right here by your side. I promise."

My words were the truth, and I proved them to him as the years went by. Several groups of humans tried to reclaim the Research Center over these years, but my Lord and his group of monsters always managed to drive them away. They worked very well together and in time, I began to realize why they had all decided to remain inside the Research Center. They might have thought that they were all noble in deciding to stay and protect the place, but deep down inside they were all hesitant to venture back out into the world. Back out…to the humans. In their minds, they were all safer here inside the Research Center.

And that included Bahamut. But in truth, I really didn't blame him. Or think any less of him, either.

More years and human encounters went by, and I began to believe that the abandoned Research Center was going to be our permanent home for the rest of my Lord's life.

And then one day, a group of six young humans made their way inside…


	5. The Joining

Chapter Five- The Joining

Many humans had come and gone over the years. Some had been mere wanderers who had seemingly just stumbled upon the island while lost or simply for the sake of exploration. These humans usually fled at the first sight of the monsters that guarded the entrance, but not before remarking on my Lord's glowing cylinder. Sometimes the eerie blue glow that my Lord insisted on keeping was enough to frighten humans away. And I had to admit that inside the otherwise dark room, the glow really was a bit disconcerting.

But mostly, the humans that tried to enter the Research Center had been the researchers who had once worked there. They were brave souls who were most likely there to rebuild the place so they could go on with their projects and experiments. I call them brave souls because they were the majority of humans who actually fought to stay inside. I figured it was due to the years of hard work that they had spent on their research. After pouring all of that kind of effort into one purpose, I could see why some wouldn't let it all go without a fight.

They all failed, of course. Bahamut was extremely adamant about guarding the facility and had the monsters take whatever action necessary to insure that the humans all stayed out and away. The people who simply fled were usually the ones who got away with minor to no injuries, while the ones who fought barely made it out with their lives intact or…didn't make it out at all.

I wasn't sure how to feel about all of it at first. It was terrible to see humans get hurt or die before my very eyes. True it was their own doing for not immediately leaving at the first sign of danger, but it was still disheartening to witness. And because of it all, my compassion unfortunately began to get the better of me during the whole situation.

Yet what could I do? This was how my Lord wanted it. This was what he believed to be the best course of action for his safety as well as the safety of the other Guardians around the world. And although this was a very brave and noble decision, I couldn't help but wonder if it was the only reason why he chose to stay behind barricaded doors. I pondered this for awhile before coming to the conclusion that he must have been reluctant to face the outside world again.

I held onto that notion as the years went by. It somehow gave me comfort as I watched more humans suffer at the hands of Bahamut and the other monsters. His reluctance to rejoin the outside world seemed to justify his actions to me. Not a lot, but enough for me to see that he was keeping himself determined to keep his decision. And hopefully, a clear conscience.

The pattern of frightening away or killing humans remained consistent. Over time, several of the monsters had been destroyed while in battle. But despite their deaths, the island and the remains of Research Center stayed safe in the end. Bahamut mourned the loss of them and always offered a quiet prayer to Hyne. He did that a lot, pray to our Lady. Of course, I could only hear the prayers that he spoke aloud. I had no idea how many times he prayed to her silently. Aside from the fallen monsters, my Lord also prayed for her to forgive him for what he felt he had to do, and to also please grant him the strength to successfully carry on with his decision to protect the island. 

I listened to these prayers every night for many, many years. They had become customary for Bahamut, no matter what the day had brought. And in time, I believed that this was how it was going to be for the rest of my Lord's life.

And then, the young humans came…

*^*^*^*^*^*^*

They were a determined group of humans, I could see that right away. Although at first, I thought that they were just another group of researchers trying to reclaim the Research Center. The racket that they made trying to break through the newly barricaded front entrance certainly suggested so. Imagine my surprise when the barricade was destroyed and a group of six young humans entered the room. A small dog was with them.

It had been so long since I had seen a group of young human beings that at first, I believed that my eyes were deceiving me. But as they inched their way farther into the room, I found that they were indeed very real. The group was made up of three boys and three girls all seemingly between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. I studied them all.

The first boy was dressed almost completely in black from head to foot. A white shirt and silver necklace were the only two things that saved him from resembling a shadow. His hair was brown and he wore it in a somewhat untidy fashion around his head. 'Untidy' meaning that it was cut in uneven lengths that was short in some places and longer in others. A long sword was being held in a sheath at his side.

Beside him on his right stood one of the girls. Her color of choice for her clothing was both blue and black. Her ankle-length jacket and arm warmers were blue, while her shirt, shorts, socks and shoes were black. Her long hair was black as well and she, too, wore a silver necklace. She was a very pretty young lady, but I wasn't deceived by her appearance. A crossbow loaded with sharp, circular blades was attached to her arm. The dog stood in front of her, sniffing the air. He clearly belonged to her.

On the left of the boy in black stood another boy, and I had to look at him twice to make sure that he was human as well. He had bright yellow hair that stood up in spikes at the front of his head, and then feathered into what resembled a Chicobo's tail in the back. A strange black mark was painted to take up practically the whole left side of his face, and he was wearing a pair of pants that seemed much too large for him. A red shirt sat underneath a black and blue vest with a gray collar. Strapped to his feet was a pair of red and black shoes and strapped to his hands, a pair of metal-plated knuckle gloves.

The boy in black stepped ahead of everyone and remarked quietly, "Looks like this place has been abandoned for years."

"Ya think?" a high-pitched voice commented from behind him. Without warning, a petite girl wearing a short yellow dress, brown boots and wide eyes pushed her way to the front of the group and then faced the boy in black. She also had brown hair, but there was a slight reddish hue to it as well. A giant nunchaku almost as big as the girl herself was hanging from a loop in the back of her dress. She bobbed up and down in apparent excitement.

"Should we investigate?" another female voice asked. It belonged to a girl dressed in a pink outfit with dark purple boots and matching shoulder-length gloves. She also had yellow hair, but it was much more presentable than the one whose hair resembled a Chicobo. She wore it very long in the front with the rest of it tied up behind her head. She was just as pretty as the girl with the black hair, but I could tell that she was also just as dangerous. A chain whip topped with a spike sat looped at her waist.

"That's why we're here, ain't it Quistis?" The sixth and final boy human questioned as he slug a large gun over his shoulder. He was quite tall with long, bright brown hair tied into a ponytail. He wore a long coat and pants, both the same shade of tan. A dark purple shirt covered his front and a black and brown cowboy-style hat covered his head. He had an easy-going and country look about him, but the sight of the gun over his shoulder made me believe otherwise.

Yet I was amazed. How could such a young group of humans look so innocent, yet so deadly all at the same time?

The dog let out a small bark and the girl in blue pointed at the cylinder. "What's that?" she asked curiously.

I glanced at Bahamut, who had already begun to make the cylinder glow its eerie blue color. Then in his booming voice he announced, "The blue light leads all to death. Turn back now."

I watched as the six humans exchanged confused and apprehensive glances. Then the strange boy with the yellow hair looked at the boy in black and ventured, "Weird. You think that might be him?"

There was a pause before the boy in black answered him by saying in the same quiet voice, "Yes, it's him." Then he turned around and said to the rest of the group, "We're heading for the cylinder. Everyone stay close."

They all nodded and then followed the boy as he slowly led them farther into the room. Bahamut made the cylinder glow again, signaling for the monsters to attack. In the blink of an eye one of the Anacondor's and two Blood Souls appeared from out of the shadows and surrounded the group.

The dog instantly began barking and the humans jumped back slightly in obvious surprise. But then without warning, they attacked. The cowboy fired three rounds at the Anacondor so quickly that I didn't even realize the fact until the shots had sounded. The monster let out a hiss of pain, but the humans were far from finished. The girl in blue then shot a blade from her arm, striking the Anacondor in the throat. Blood flowed from the wound. This caused the snake to fall to the ground and hiss in agony. Then finally, the petite girl in yellow gripped her nunchaku in both hands and raised it up in front of her, calling out, "Thundaga!"

Lightning stuck the ground where the Anacondor was lying. Then pieces of the floor flew up in the air as wall of electricity surrounded the Anacondor, making the horrifying sound of electrocution as a series of shocks was sent into the fallen serpent's body. Then when it was all over the Anacondor twitched a few times before becoming completely still. It was dead.

She…she had cast a Thundaga spell on it! How in the world…?!

Shocked, I glanced over at the other three humans. They were battling with the two Blood Souls. The yellow-haired girl in pink (Quistis?) had cast a Cure spell on one of them, weakening it; while the Chicobo boy repeatedly punched the second. A moment later, the boy in black ordered his two teammates to step back and pulled his sword from the sheath.

A bright green glow illuminated from the blade and lit up the room, startling the Blood Souls. Then he jumped over to them and swung the blade, cutting them both in half. Their mutilated bodies fell to the ground. Silence.

The boy looked around and then sheathed his weapon. Then he motioned for the group to gather close together again and continued with them toward the cylinder. Nervous, I looked back up at my Lord and could tell that he was a bit disgruntled with the young humans' performance. With a wave of his wings, the cylinder glowed again and signaled more monsters to attack.

The last Anacondor, two Grand Mantis' and another two Blood Souls stationed themselves around the humans. This time, the group seemed a bit more cautious as they all defended themselves. The boy in black fought the two Blood Souls while the rest of the group spread themselves among the other monsters. Two of the girls (the petite one and Quistis) were battling with the Anacondor, while the third girl (the one in blue) and her dog switched between helping them and the other two boys battling the Grand Mantis'. Weapons were flying, spells were being cast ("Tornado!" "Cure!" "Flare!") and pretty soon, the last growls and howls of each monster could be heard before all was silent again.

I couldn't help it. I was impressed with the humans' skills. They had cut through the monsters almost as if they were nothing. And the spells! I couldn't get over how effortlessly these young humans were casting them. They, too, must have had some sort of contact with the Dr. Odine that Sabateur had mentioned years before. Amazing.

Bahamut however, was almost beside himself with frustration. "Foolish young humans," he mumbled to himself. Then with yet another sweep of his wings, the cylinder glowed and signaled the third group of monsters to attack.

Two Grendal's and the last Grand Mantis appeared, and another battle ensued. But this time, the group of humans seemed to have their hands full with the Grendal's. I could understand that. They were nasty creatures with razor blades for tails and vengeance on their minds. The three boys and Quistis fought them, while the other two girls and the dog took care of the Grand Mantis.

By this time, both Bahamut and myself were watching them in disbelief. These humans were excellent fighters. It seemed that no matter what my Lord threw at them, they could handle it and then some. Even as they struggled with the Grendal's, I could see the looks of utter determination on their faces. Even the dog seemed determined. They had come here for a purpose and by Hyne, they were going to accomplish that purpose. Whatever it might be.

The battling continued. The Grendal's were almost merciless in their attack, forcing the three boys and Quistis to maintain defensive fighting maneuvers. Meanwhile, the other two girls and dog continued attacking the Grand Mantis in a more offensive manner as they circled around it. The dog repeatedly bit at the Grand Mantis' legs while the girls used their weapons against it. The petite girl's nunchaku made painful noises as it smacked against the hard skin of the monster, while the girl in blue shot blade after blade at it. Then she stepped back and waved an arm in front of her, calling out, "Blizzara!"

An icicle exploded up from the ground beneath the Grand Mantis and impaled him through the belly. The monster wiggled in pain and began to shiver from the cold. A moment later the icicle exploded, sending pieces of ice and pieces of the Grand Mantis everywhere.

That was that. Without even so much as a smile or word of triumph, the two girls then immediately raced over to the rest of their group and began helping them out with the Grendal's. The dog hurriedly tagged after them and again, I was impressed. Such teamwork! And it was all paying off, too. For now that there were three humans against each Grendal the odds evened up considerably. The attacks on the humans' part were suddenly more offensive as their pace quickened and it was now the Grendal's who were on the defensive.

"I am running out of monsters."

The sound of Bahamut's voice surprised me and I faced him. He was pressed against the glass and glancing around at the outside. I followed suit and discovered that his words were indeed true. If the humans destroyed the Grendal's, then all that would remain would be the three Ruby Dragons. These children had single-handedly destroyed three quarters of my Lord's fleet of monsters. It was mind-boggling. Adults twice their age had attempted to battle their way through these monsters and they had all failed. And yet…yet these six young humans were getting the best of the monsters _and_ my Lord.

Incredible. Simply incredible.

At long last, the Grendal's began to weaken and stumble wearily about. The boy in black noticed this as well and then shouted quickly, "Quistis, call Pandemona!"

Pandemona?! The Guardian of Wind? She was with the humans?

Bahamut was just as surprised as I was as we watched Quistis step away from the group and call out, "Tornado Zone!" Orbs of light spun around her entire body, coming to a stop just at the top of her head as she made a grand sweeping motion with her arms. Then, she thrust her hands out in front of her and vanished.

A great gust of wind began blowing the Grendal's back. Then Pandemona appeared, breathing in the air around the room and filling the giant bag attached to her back. The children were huddled together in one corner of the room, bracing themselves against the wind as the Grendal's were both sucked up into the Wind Guardian's mouth. Then suddenly, Pandemona spit the monsters back out along with a huge gust of wind that quickly turned into a cyclone. The Grendal's spun wildly around the inside the cyclone as it lifted them all the way up to the ceiling. Then without warning, both the cyclone and Pandemona disappeared from sight and the Grendal's fell headfirst from the ceiling back to the floor. There was a sickening CRACK as they crashed down and I knew without a doubt that they were dead.

Glancing yet again up at Bahamut, I couldn't tell which of us was more surprised. Not only were the humans housing a Guardian, but also the only monsters that remained now were the Ruby Dragons.

But Bahamut didn't call for them. Instead, he waited until the humans finally gathered around the cylinder before saying slowly, "So you wish to challenge me?"

There was a pause as the six humans all exchanged glances. By the looks of confusion on their faces, it seemed that challenging my Lord was the last thing they had come here to do. But…if that were so then what were they doing here? Surely _they_ weren't hoping to continue with the horrible research here that went on in here. So what was their purpose?

Finally, the boy in black faced Bahamut and said firmly, "It is not our will to fight-."

That was as far as he got. Bahamut made the cylinder glow and the first Ruby Dragon appeared behind the humans. It let out a loud roar and the six children all spun around in surprise, gasping. Suddenly, I was worried for them. The boy in black had said that they hadn't come to fight. And they didn't seem like the type of human's who wished to continue Jenner's research. They were obviously fighters, not scientists and researchers. Somehow, they had discovered that Bahamut was here inside the Research Center and judging from their mannerisms (And the presence of Pandemona), they had most likely come here to speak to Bahamut for a specific reason.

Once their surprise had disappeared, the humans surrounded the dragon and held up their weapons. My worry deepened. Ruby Dragons were fifty times more dangerous than Grendal's. And the creature proved it by casting a Meteor spell against the humans to start off the battle. Chunks of flying rock appeared from out of nowhere above their heads and came crashing down around them. But to my surprise, the young humans didn't run or panic. Instead, they all instantly cast a Protect spell over themselves and then attacked.

The Ruby Dragon wasn't expecting that move anymore than I was. Its shock was evident as four of the six weapons were suddenly upon him. Shots were fired, metal fists were swung, and sharp blades were flying as well as ice and water spells. Once again, I was impressed. The humans had apparently fought a Ruby Dragon before if they knew what its weaknesses were. Not that it decreased the danger that the dragon promised, but it did make fighting it a bit easier.

Almost before Bahamut and I knew it, the fierce Ruby Dragon had fallen. Victory once again belonged to the human's. But this time, a couple of them had been injured. Namely the petite girl in yellow and the Chicobo-looking boy, who merely just cast Cure spells on themselves and were then helped to their feet by their teammates. But by this time, they were all wearing tired and weary expressions on their faces. Apparently, they had not been expecting this sort of welcoming from my Lord. Nevertheless, they all gathered themselves around the cylinder once again and looked at Bahamut.

My Lord's voice was low and his words were subtly taunting. "Begging me for mercy?"

"Never!" the yellow-haired boy spat in return, anger overtaking his previous expression. 

Bahamut studied him with a look of pure wonder in his eyes. But it disappeared the moment the boy in black tried to address him again. Then Bahamut signaled for the second Ruby Dragon to attack.

This was getting hopeless. The humans, although obviously exhausted, immediately answered the attack with one of their own. Again, Ruby Dragons were dangerous but…now, I was beginning to believe that these young humans were equally as dangerous, if not more. If they had defeated one Ruby Dragon, what was going to prevent them from defeating this one? And the one after? And when my Lord ran out of Dragons…what was to prevent them from destroying him as well?

I shook the thought away. No, I had to have faith. I had to believe that the humans truly meant Bahamut no harm. Besides, if they really wanted him destroyed then they could have done so by now. They wouldn't have bothered trying to speak with him directly if killing him was their main goal. No, they didn't want to hurt him. But I had no trouble believing that if Bahamut challenged them, the group would have no qualms about defending themselves in any way possible.

Sure enough, the second Ruby Dragon fell. Bahamut was instantly upset. "Imbeciles," he told them angrily. "Why do you wish to fight?"

The humans were all spread out around the room, trying to catch their breath. Either they had heard my Lord's question and were just choosing to ignore him or, they were too tired to register the fact that he had spoken. In any case, they met Bahamut's words with silence. So with a huge sigh, my Lord signaled the third and final Ruby Dragon to attack.

I couldn't watch. Instead, I just focused on my Lord the entire time. He seemed to be growing weary of the whole situation. I felt the same. He also seemed to know that the humans were going to defeat this last Ruby Dragon. And from the look on his face, I could tell that he was trying to figure out what he was going to do once they did.

Smiling weakly, I moved to stand in front of him and said, "Well, this is it, my Lord. You know as well as I do that these children are going to destroy your last monster. The question is…what is going to happen after they do?"

He didn't answer me, of course. It wouldn't have been necessary anyway. We both knew what was going to happen. When the last dragon fell, Bahamut closed his eyes and raised both his wings and arms. The flashing blue light exploded, blinding the humans and myself. The next thing I knew the cylinder had become so huge that it had taken up the entire room. And now inside of it with us stood the six humans and the dog. It barked wildly.

"What the hell?" the yellow-haired boy remarked quizzically, glancing around at his new surroundings. 

"Ditto," the cowboy agreed, scratching his hat and looking around as well.

Bahamut took advantage of their confusion to fly up to the ceiling and then glare down at all of them. I felt my heart turn over. This was it. He was going to fight them. Without thinking, I found myself praying to Hyne once again for his safety. Jenner had once tried to kill my Lord for power. But these humans didn't seem to be after power and if they were successful in killing him, then it would truly be Bahamut's own fault. Harsh, I know, but it was the truth as well. But then again, I had to remember what Bahamut had gone through because of humans. If I had been in his place, I probably would have been wary of all human's, too.

Of course, I'd also like to think that I would give these particular young humans here a chance to explain themselves.

The children all moved to stand side by side and then looked up. Without a doubt, my Lord made a very demanding figure up there. The old Bahamut from the long-lost Guardian Realm had returned to life, seemingly even more powerful than ever before. The emotion was just radiating from him. Anger, wariness, determination…they were all mixed together to make a very dangerous Bahamut. 

I wasn't sure if I could watch. Hyne help them all. My Lord included.

"I am Bahamut," my Lord told them lowly. Then with a roar, he took aim and dove down directly at the humans, whom promptly either dropped down belly first on the ground or simply rolled to the side. The cowboy recovered quickly enough to fire a shot at Bahamut. It missed him and ricocheted of the glass.

"No!" The boy in black shouted, picking himself up from the ground. "Don't hurt him!"

"Then tell him not to hurt us!" the cowboy shouted back.

"Look out!" the girl in yellow shrieked, pointing.

Bahamut had pulled himself back up and was now diving at them all once again. This time, his claws were outstretched. The children all ducked down again and watched as Bahamut swooped over them, performing a quick loop-the-loop before assuming his original position on the ceiling. He stayed suspended there once again and looked down at the humans.

They quickly banded together again. "We have to do something," Quistis told the boy in black. "We cannot allow him to continue to attack without defending ourselves. Because sooner or later, our luck is going to run out."

He refused to look away from Bahamut and replied with, "We can't hurt him. We need him."

"We know," the girl in blue said gently. "But we also need to stay alive. Bahamut isn't being nice. Simply explaining our situation isn't going to work. I mean, look where it's gotten us so far. Quistis is right. We need to do something."

"Quickly," the yellow-haired boy added a bit nervously, still staring at Bahamut.

I listened to this conversation with extreme interest. What in the world could these humans need Bahamut for? After all, they already had the Wind Guardian. And her power was absolutely nothing to sneeze at. So with that along with the humans' exceptional fighting skills should have, in my opinion, been enough to consider them a force to be reckoned with. But no, the boy in black still insisted on needing Bahamut.

"All right," he told the team finally. "Defend yourselves. But be careful."

This seemed to amuse Bahamut, for he snorted softly and shook his head. Then he swooped down for another attack.

Again, I just watched as the scene unfolded before me. The children dodged for the third time but then immediately attacked. Quistis swung her whip and nicked Bahamut's tail, while the cowboy fired another bullet that hit Bahamut's left arm. Grimacing, I watched as he grunted in pain and then swung a claw down at the two of them. But before he could hit anyone, there was a cry of "Firaga!" from somewhere behind him and his stomach burst into flames. Roaring, he used his wings to beat out the flames and then used a magic spell of his own. Raising a hand he called out, "Quake!"

Everything next happened so fast that it was almost a blur. The ground began to shake viciously, causing all the humans to cry out and stumble around. Cracks appeared beneath their feet and holes opened. The yellow-haired boy and the girl in the yellow sundress fell into two of the holes yet managed to grab the sides, where they clung for dear life. Quistis, the cowboy and the boy in black hurried to help them up but Bahamut was quicker. Waving a hand he growled, "Meteor!"

Chunks of rock once again appeared above the humans and began to rain down on them. BOOM! BOOM! They struck both the children and the ground, making both the booming noises and CLANGS as they hit the Protect spells that still surrounded the humans. And though it didn't hurt them, it did put a certain amount of force on them that made the rescue of their fallen comrades much more difficult.

"Silence!" a voice cried suddenly.

A slight buzzing noise filled the air and a white cloud formed around Bahamut's surprised face. A moment later, it disappeared and a furious Bahamut tried to growl in rage. Confused, I looked behind him and saw the girl in blue standing with an arm outstretched. The dog was right next to her. She then released a blade from her weapon that struck Bahamut directly in the back of the head.

He turned around to face her and I saw blood trickle down his long neck. The girl backed up a few steps as he slowly began to stalk her, knowing full well that the rest of her team was too busy to back her up. The girl knew this as well, but a look of determination stayed on her face as she caught the flying blade back on her weapon and then shot it at him once again.

Snarling, Bahamut knocked it off course with his wing and sent it back at the girl, who grabbed the dog by its collar and jumped back out of the way. The blade embedded itself into the ground right where she and her pup had been standing. The girl eyed it warily and then focused back on Bahamut. Beside her, the dog growled and then barked loudly.

By this time, the other humans were pulling their teammates to safety by casting a 'Float' spell on them. But Bahamut was too wrapped up with the girl in blue that he failed to notice. He began to furiously bat his wings back and forth, causing a mighty gust of wind that immediately knocked the girl and her dog off balance. She fell back onto the ground while the wind picked up the dog and hurtled him far back until he hit the unbreakable glass with a yelp. Then with lightning speed, Bahamut raised a claw and then swiped at the fallen girl.

She saw it and desperately tried to scramble out of the way. But the second she rolled onto her stomach and tried to get to her feet, there was a horrible slashing sound and the girl let out a terrifying scream of pain before crumpling to the ground.

"Sweet Hyne," I whispered, closing my eyes and looking away. This battle was becoming more horrible by the second.

"Rinoa!" another voice shouted. Then, "Blind!"

There was a great flapping noise and I forced my eyes open. To my surprise, a black cloud was now attached to my Lord's eyes and he was furiously beating his wings while waving his arms around. Four of the humans took swift advantage and began attacking him. The fifth, the boy in black, made a mad dash for the fallen girl.

Over the next few minutes I stood in the center of the cylinder and alternated my attention between him and my Lord. The other four humans were trying to keep Bahamut busy while the boy in black tended to the fallen girl. More magic spells went flying and even though he was blinded, Bahamut tried his best to avoid them. Whenever he heard "Thundara!" or "Wind!" or any other type of spell, he instantly flew to the side in hopes of dodging it. Every so often he was successful. He also stayed high above their heads out of the reach of their weapons. The cowboy was reloading.

Meanwhile, the boy in black had the fallen girl called Rinoa cradled in his arms. The back of her legs was a bloody mess and I was extremely surprised that they hadn't been severed from her body. The dog managed to limp over to them and then threw a shiny white object onto its owner. There was a bright yellow glow and when it disappeared, the blood had disappeared and Rinoa's legs had been completely healed. The dog then nuzzled her side with its nose. She petted its head and gave it a smile, saying, "Thanks, Angelo." Then she turned to the boy and gave him a hug. When they separated, she reached into her jacket, pulled out something small and then handed it to him. He looked at it, nodded and then stood up, telling Angelo to stay with Rinoa. And with a look of pure determination on his face the boy straightened his shoulders, turned around and marched over to Bahamut, clutching the object Rinoa had given tightly in his left hand and his sword in the other.

What was he doing? What did he have? Warily, I followed him over to my Lord.

The boy stopped right behind him and then raised his left hand. Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

A burst of orange-gold light erupted from his hand. It was so bright that everyone, including Bahamut, flinched and shielded their eyes. But I couldn't take my eyes off of the boy. The orange-gold light ran from his hand all the down his body until he was glowing everywhere with the color. His sword included.

Apparently, his teammates had seen this before because they all retreated from their positions around Bahamut and huddled together with Rinoa and Angelo, watching as the boy put the object in his pocket and then gripped his sword with both hands. And then in a blink of an eye, he was airborne and slashing cut after cut onto My Lord's wings. His howls of pain were terrible and he swung his arms blindly, trying to stop the boy. But it was no use. The human was a complete blur as he attacked and soon, the cuts on his wings forced Bahamut to fall to the ground. He landed in a heap and didn't move.

I rushed to my Lord's side, speechless with both worry and wonder. The boy had defeated him. _Him. _Bahamut, the Lord of the Guardians. It was amazing. And thankfully, Bahamut didn't seem to be hurt too bad. His wings were bleeding and he had other minor cuts and burns from weapons and spells. Other than that, he seemed fine.

The boy sheathed his weapon and then slowly walked over to us, pausing to wave his teammates over to join him. They all stood up (With Quistis helping Rinoa) and followed the boy until the six of them and the dog surrounded us.

I didn't panic. After all, they weren't going to hurt him. The boy in black had already said so. And even despite my Lord's now bleeding wings, I believed him. I also believed that Bahamut would now listen to whatever it was that the humans had come to ask him. He was still both blinded and silenced. His breathing was heavy.

The group all looked at the boy in black, who appeared to be mumbling to himself. Then after a moment, he faced his comrades and announced, "Ifrit thinks that it would be best if he and the rest of the GF's explained our situation to him."

Ifrit? The Guardian of Fire? He was with the humans as well?

The group all nodded in agreement and then spread themselves around the room. Then they all raised their hands in unison and closed their eyes. Moments later, a horde of Guardians appeared inside the cylinder. I stared at each of them. Along with Ifrit and Pandemona the humans also had Shiva, Guardian of Ice, Quezacotl, Guardian of Thunder and Siren, Guardian of Silence.

I kept staring. Diablos, Guardian of Demi, The Brothers (Sacred and Minotaur), Guardians of Earth and Carbuncle, Guardian of Reflect. There was also Leviathan, Guardian of Water, Cerberus, Guardian of Multiple Magic, Alexander, Guardian of Holy and Doomtrain, Guardian of Poison. And lastly, there were two Guardians whom I had only heard of as a rumor. Jumbo Cactar and the Tonberry King. With wide eyes, I counted them all. Between the six human's, they were housing fourteen Guardians. Fifteen if you counted both Brothers. Incredible. With all of these Guardian's, this group of humans had to be the most powerful of their kind in the whole world.

Yet I softened at the sight of my old friends. Six thousand years hadn't really changed any of them. Just being in the same room with them again was enough to bring another thousand memories to mind. But those would have to wait. The whole lot of them gathered around me and Bahamut, their faces a mixture of expressions. Then Ifrit raised a hand and said in his gruff voice, "Esuna."

Bahamut was enveloped in green light. The black cloud vanished from his eyes and he cleared his throat. He could see and speak again, and he proved it by looking around at the group of Guardians and saying, "Greetings, everyone."

As if on cue, most of them lowered themselves to the ground in front of him. Doomtrain let out a small whistle and Alexander just stood still. But this display seemed to bother Bahamut, for he sighed raggedly and said, "There is no need for this anymore, my fellow Guardians. Please rise up and tell me what you and these humans wish of me."

The Guardian's didn't hesitate. Taking turns, they each had a hand in explaining everything. An evil sorceress from the future named Ultamecia was planning to compress time in hopes of ruling her own world. If she succeeded, then life as we knew it would cease to exist. The world that our Lady Hyne had created would be destroyed and then remade as Ultamecia saw fit. Their lives, as well as all the other creatures' lives on this planet, was in mortal danger.

But there was still a small ray of hope. It seemed that this small group of humans was going on a mission to try and defeat this Sorceress Ultamecia before she could compress time. A battle to the end, to say the least. And the Guardian's were planning to go into this battle right along with the humans. After all, it was their oath. Their promise to protect the humans that they had all made so many years ago. And although they seemed like a powerful enough force…they were all hoping that he would help them as well. Would he, Lord Bahamut, Leader of all Guardian's, consider joining their team to help keep Hyne's world safe?

"We Guardians were banished to Earth by Hyne for a reason," Minotaur finished, "And we all believe that defeating this Ultamecia _is_ the reason we were sent here for."

There was a long silence as Bahamut contemplated their words. Myself, I was mortified. This was terrible. No, it was beyond terrible. It was horrifying. It was sickening. It was downright _blasphemous. _Who did this Ultamecia think she was? How _dare_ she try to destroy my Hyne's world! Why, if I hadn't been exiled I'd…I'd…!

Squeezing my eyes shut, I took a very, _very_ deep breath and tried to get my anger under control. Then I turned my attention to Bahamut and studied his face. He had done an excellent job of protecting the Research Center over the years, but now the time had come for him to return to protecting an even bigger target. Our world. But to my dismay, my Lord's eyes seemed a bit hesitant. The idea of having to consort with humans again must have been weighing heavily on his mind. Which, again, was understandable but…this was an emergency. How could he even _consider_ not going? Where was the old Bahamut that I had seen minutes earlier? The old Bahamut whom had shown such spirit and fury while battling these humans? The old Bahamut…who would never let anything stand in his way of staying true to the sacred vow he made before Hyne?

Worried, I glanced around at the surrounding Guardians. They were all watching Bahamut with looks of hope and anticipation on their faces. They needed his help. They needed their _Lord's_ help in defeating this Ultamecia. Just like they needed his help so many years ago while inside the Guardian Realm. They were…well, a team. And every team needs a Leader.

A few more minutes of silence went by. Then finally, Bahamut said, "I have been here inside this facility for many years, my Guardians. I have been keeping its past evils safely buried from the eyes of wandering humans who may have wanted to resurface them. And believe me, to do so would put all the Guardians of the world in great danger." He paused and then looked at the Guardians before him each in turn. Then his voice turned thoughtful. "These humans you are with…are they good to you all?"

The group of Guardians all looked at each other, seemingly unsure of how to respond. Then the little creature known as the Tonberry King stepped forward with his lantern and began quietly with, "They don't mistreat us. If anything, there is a great level of respect between our human Masters and us Guardians. Some of us were absorbed into them by being drawn out of Monsters or enemies, but the majority of us were defeated by them in battle and were then asked to join them." Pause. Then he blinked his yellow eyes at Bahamut and continued with, "I myself was one of those Guardians, as well as Ifrit and Diablos and several others. These humans didn't take us against our will. We joined them because we wanted to. So yes…I'd say that they are very good to us." 

The rest of the Guardians quickly voiced their agreement.

Bahamut still looked a bit skeptical, but he continued to think. Then he said, "Bid your human Masters to stand before me."

There was a great shuffling as the Guardians all moved aside to make room for the children to approach. Led by the boy in black, the six of them and Angelo made their way over and stood before Bahamut and I.

He eyed them all carefully. Angelo stood in front of Rinoa, growling softly. His ears were perked up in obvious warning. The boy in black was beside them, with the small girl in yellow on his other side. Quistis stood in between the cowboy and the yellow-haired boy. All six of them seemed tense, but they stared right back into my Lord's eyes with silent confidence. 

"Your names?" Bahamut inquired quietly, watching as they all exchanged glances at the question. Then after a moment, the boy in black stepped forward and answered calmly with, "My name is Squall Leonheart. I am the Leader of Balamb Garden's military force, SeeD. To my left are Rinoa Heartily and her dog Angelo, and to my right is Selphie Tilmitt." He paused to indicate the second group, starting with the cowboy. "That's Irvine Kinneas, followed by Quistis Trepe and finally, Zell Dincht."

They all murmured a hello.

"Greetings," my Lord said again. And to my relief, his voice sounded much friendlier. Then he looked at Squall and remarked quietly, "Squall. 'A brief but noisy disturbance. A brief but furious outburst of temper'." He paused and then gave the boy what seemed like a look of admiration. "Your name suits you well, Squall Leonheart." He then shook his wings for emphasis.

There was yet another quick silence. Then Squall knelt down in front of my Lord and cast a Cure spell on his wings. When Bahamut was healed, the boy then replied softly with, "Thank you, Lord Bahamut."

"You are very welcome indeed." Bahamut glanced around at all of them again, including the nearby Guardians. Then after what seemed like more thought, he finally complied with, "Very well, then. I will join you in your quest against this Ultamecia."

Explosive cheers rang out between some of the humans and Guardians. Irvine and Zell slapped hands, Quistis and Selphie hugged, and Angelo jumped up onto Rinoa's front, barking happily. She grinned and hugged the animal tightly to her.

So engrossed was I through the whole happy celebration that I almost missed the next words that were spoken by my Lord to Squall. "On one condition. When Ultamecia is destroyed, you are to release me back into the world. Agreed?"

Silence. Then, "Agreed."

Bahamut nodded. Then he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Squall did the same and seconds later, my Lord had disappeared inside of the young human.

Squall opened his eyes and touched his head, a slight frown on his lips. Then he announced, "Alright. Let's get to Esthar and the Presidential Palace."

There were nods all around the room and the Guardians were then all absorbed back into their perspective human bodies. Then the six children headed for the exit 

Wait! Where were they all going?! They couldn't just take my Lord and my fellow Guardians on the quest of a lifetime without me! Because Hyne knows that if I hadn't have been exiled, I would have been right there beside them all now to help.

So I charged out of the exit after them, stopping briefly to relish the sight of the sunlight for the first time in many years. They were all headed toward a huge red spacecraft and smiling, I hurried to follow.

Like the children themselves, I could only guess what the future was now going to hold. But to be chosen to save the world…it must have affected them in an extremely positive way. For together, they had rounded up seventeen of The Great Hyne's Guardian's in an effort to keep our world safe. Together, they had meet and defeated Lord Bahamut's army of monsters, and then defeated Bahamut himself, gaining his promise to go into battle with them.

And maybe I wouldn't be able to help, but I just had to be there with all of them when they faced Ultamecia. I had to stand with the humans and my fellow Guardians. My ancient spirit and passion for both battle and human protection demanded it.

But most of all, I had to stand with my Lord. Because I knew that I would never be anywhere without him again. We were our own personal team now. And it was about time that I stood proudly beside him in battle.

I had never done it before.


	6. The Redemption

Chapter Six- The Redemption

I sat on the railing of a cement balcony, just outside Balamb Garden's Ballroom. A huge celebration was being thrown for the demise of Sorceress Ultamecia. Jubilant people were inside, smiling and laughing in happy relief for their safety. Some were dancing, some where eating and others conversing in small groups. There was a warm vibe in the air. All was once again right in their world.

I hadn't been sitting long. Earlier I had been walking through the crowds and familiarizing myself with all the people. They were all part of the group SeeD in one way or another, and seemed like a very lively bunch of people. It felt good to be around them all. The scene was a very far (and comforting) cry from the Deep Sea Research Center.

After spending some time in the crowds I had spotted Selphie darting around with a video camera. I had to smile. The young girl was just so full of energy and excitement. A little while later she and Irvine got into a small tug of war over camera, which Selphie ended by letting go, jumping up, snatching Irvine's hat off his head and then putting it on her own. By this time, Quistis had appeared and watched while Selphie giggled and then skipped over next to her. Irvine focused on them while Selphie waved and then made gun fingers at him saying, "Bang, bang!" Quistis just gave the camera a weak smile.

Zell had been sitting at a table with a young lady that I had yet to meet, busily eating hot dog after hot dog. I was amazed. There was a mountain of the things on a platter in front of him. Was he truly going to eat all of it? If so, then it wouldn't take too long. The boy was eating them so fast that I was positive that he thought they might try to run away from him. I left him to finish while the girl next to him begged over and over for him to slow down and chew. For Zell's sake, I hoped he listened.

Aside from getting to know people, I had also been looking for Squall. I had lost him somewhere inside the Garden not long after we returned from the battle with Ultamecia. I was worried. Had he already complied with Bahamut's wish and set him free? Or could he still be absorbed inside Squall somewhere in the Garden? The thought of having to search for my Lord all over again made me sigh. If Squall _had_ set him free then Bahamut could be just about anywhere by then.

I wandered the crowd for a bit longer. I crossed paths with Cid Kramer, whom I quickly learned was the Garden's Headmaster. I also crossed paths with a group of girls who worked inside the library, the women who worked inside the cafeteria, a young lady by the name of Xu who was a top ranked SeeD official and many others whose names and occupations were much too much to remember. But…there still hadn't been any sign of Squall. 

Worry had slowly begun to overwhelm me. So I began to search outside of the ballroom, thinking that perhaps Squall had decided not to join in on the festivities with the rest of his SeeDs. I had not spotted Rinoa in the crowd either, which made me wonder if maybe she and Squall were together elsewhere inside the Garden.

The thought made me smile. Young love. How precious.

Nevertheless, it didn't stop my worry and I continued to look around, discovering that the Garden was an extremely gigantic place. The Library, Parking Lot and something called 'The Training Center' took up the right part of the first floor. On the left side sat the Cafeteria, the Quad and the Infirmary. And in between it all sat the entrance to the SeeDs Dormitories. I searched all these places with absolutely no luck in finding the SeeD Leader or his Rinoa.

Finally, I admitted defeat and returned to the ballroom. The crowd had dwindled down during my exploration of the Garden and there seemed to be no more than a hundred people left inside. Apparently I had been gone from the party for quite some time. Zell, Quistis, Selphie and Irvine had all disappeared and as I had feared, still no sign of Squall. It was then that that I had spotted an empty balcony across the room and with a defeated sigh, I had made my way out onto it and sat up on the railing.

And so here I was, staring out into the ocean waters as Balamb Garden moved over them. Occasionally my gaze would shift to the sky. It was a beautiful night. A bright full moon was out and the stars were shining like a thousand polished diamonds. If I hadn't been feeling so down I would have appreciated the view a whole lot more. But the possible loss of Bahamut prevented me from doing so.

I sighed again. I knew that I was overreacting, but…well, no one can possibly go through what I went through with Bahamut and _not_ feel even the slightest bit attached to him. Not that I _wouldn't_ search the world for him again but… I liked it here in Balamb Garden and was hoping that this was where he would want to remain. And whether Bahamut believed it or not, right here would actually be the safest place for him to stay. Here, he would face death honorably side by side with the Mortals he had sworn to protect instead of facing it all alone against another group of dishonorable enemies.

Besides, I respected Squall and his teammates. They had done the Guardians and Hyne a great service by defeating Ultamecia and saving the world from her plans of destruction. They deserved to have my Lord stay with and protect them. Couldn't Bahamut see any of that? Or was his fear of human company now too great to get over?

Without wanting to, I tried to think of where Bahamut might go if Squall released him. Nowhere specific came to mind, but I was sure that he would steer clear of the Kashkabald Desert. Other than that, he could go anywhere. And with my luck, it would take another millennium to find him again because I had no doubt that he would hide himself well.

On the other hand, he could still be inside Squall and I could be out here worrying myself for no reason.

It didn't matter. If he was still here, wonderful. I'd find him eventually. If not, I had all of eternity to find him again.

I gazed sadly down at the water. Yes, I still had all of eternity. Eternity to watch life go on around me without being able to be a part of it. Eternity to live among the humans without any recognition. Eternity to stand by my Lord without him ever knowing I am there or why. Eternity to remember and regret my ancient actions of the past. Eternity to live in sadness…

And of course, eternity to know that I had brought it all on myself.

I had to sigh. Again. After the group of SeeDs had defeated Ultamecia, I would have given anything to join in on the private celebration they had had with each other before returning to Balamb Garden. The six of them had kissed and hugged and cried for what had seemed like forever. Happiness, relief, pride…all of these emotions just burst free from all of them. They had saved the world and managed to stay alive in the process. Even after an extremely close call with Rinoa, Squall and my Lord. 

The thought of how close a call it had been made me cringe and I instantly tried to put it out of my mind. Instead, I went back to thinking about the humans' joy. Their happiness had reminded me of how it felt to fight and then find victory after a battle. There was not a more exhilarating feeling in the universe than the feeling of a battle well fought. And after standing with them all during the battle with Ultamecia, memories of sharing this euphoria with my fellow Guardians painfully invaded my mind. How could I have forgotten how fulfilling my Guardian duties had once been? And how could I have been so dense as to jeopardize them over something so trivial?

Because I was a fool, that's why. A headstrong, stubborn and jealous fool. And I was paying for it with the rest of my life.

I longed for those old days. To be surrounded by my fellow Guardians, to perform my duties for the humans and most of all, to once again have the love and respect of my Lady Hyne. She had, after all, created me. And how have I repaid her? By disgracing myself in her eyes. By allowing my fellow Guardians to believe that hatred among them was acceptable behavior, thus forcing my Lady to banish them to Earth. As Mortals, no less.

I looked down at the water sadly. What was done was done. I was just going to have to accept what was, as well as what never could be.

A great flapping noise suddenly caught my attention and I turned around. To my great relief, Bahamut was landing on the balcony behind me. I had to smile. The balcony was just barely wide enough to accommodate his giant frame, and he had to wrap his tail around his middle to insure his fit. Carefully, he situated himself and then folded his wings behind his back.

Widening my smile, I leaned back so I could look up into his face. He looked wonderful. Even more proud and poised than I could remember him ever being. And for good reason. Ultamecia had been defeated, the world was safe and he was finally free from that evil prison that had been his home for so many years, the Deep Sea Research Center. Life for him -I was almost positive- was going to be a great deal easier. If he could survive Mortal life, Dr. Jenner and Ultamecia, then he could probably survive anything.

Bahamut cleared his throat and I leaned farther back on the railing. He was just so tall and just took up so much space that it was astonishing. So in hopes of seeing him better, I stood up and tried to balance myself on the railing, saying, "I'm so glad to see you. I searched everywhere around the Garden for Squall without any kind of success at all. I was so afraid that you had left me."

My balance wavered and I caught myself before I fell, laughing softly. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Not that I was in any danger of hurting myself, of course. Still laughing, I managed to say, "I'm also glad that you cannot see how clumsy I'm being right now."

What happened next would continue to shock me for years to come. Bahamut slowly looked down, reached out a claw and asked quietly, "Lunar?"

My reaction was fierce. Gasping loudly, I jerked away from his outstretched claw before it could touch me. The action caused me to teeter horribly on the rail and then suddenly, I was toppling off and heading straight for the water below.

I didn't scream. After all, it wasn't going to be the first time I had fallen into water while in my exiled state. I knew what was going to happen when I landed. But without warning, I was brought to an abrupt halt and I let out a loud shriek of surprise. Only then did I realize that I had been covering my eyes with my hands. Cautiously, I removed them…and then gasped again.

The moonlight had illuminated the water into a hazy glow. Blinking, I found that my nose was now mere inches away from…another nose? Was that what I was seeing? Blinking again, I tried to focus. Yes, it was a nose. A pale nose. Above it sat a pair of wide silver eyes, surrounded by long, silver lashes. And above those, a mane of white hair covered the head all the way down past a pair of slight shoulders. A string of white pearls were hanging around a slim neck.

"Who…?" I whispered to myself, watching as the face's expression changed into a look of confusion. Then all of a sudden, it all came to me in a rush. Great Hyne, it was my reflection! I was staring at my own reflection! But…but I couldn't have been. It was …it was…!

"Impossible," I muttered, finishing my thought aloud and continuing to stare at the face. Then I glanced above it in the water… and saw Bahamut.

I stared open-mouthed at his reflection. His claws were holding me around the waist and his wings were gently flapping, allowing us to hover over the water. Then slowly, I was picked up away from the water and then found myself being carefully turned over. A moment later, I was face to face with my Lord.

Literally face to face. I was so close to him that if I reached out, I could easily touch his chin. But…I couldn't move. Shock had overtaken my system. Shock and horrible confusion. What was happening? How had my Lord seen me? How was he holding onto me? Was that truly my reflection I had seen in the water? If so, how? And why?

And then I felt it. All of it. The chill in the night air; The breeze as it blew through my hair; The warmth of my Lord's breath and the firm hold he had around me. Somehow, incredibly, I could feel it all and it caused me to shiver.

But…I wasn't _supposed_ to feel anything!

Emotion welled up in my throat like a volcano in danger of eruption as I stared into Bahamut's big, glowing green eyes. Could those eyes truly see me? And if I spoke again, would his ears truly hear my words? Or…or was all of this some sort of trick? Perhaps a grand scheme that my Lady Hyne had decided to include me in? Would she truly be that cruel?

"Is this…real?" I asked finally, partly afraid that he wouldn't answer, partly afraid that he would. 

My words were met with a long silence. Then finally, Bahamut just nodded his head. 

That was all it took to convince me. All at once, I felt as if an entire ocean of tears had risen up to my eyes. My vision blurred and I pressed a hand over my now rapidly beating heart, silently ordering it to keep calm. But it wasn't its pace that I was concerned about. I was concerned about all the emotions that were now filling it. Surprise, joy, gratitude, they were all greatly affecting me. Trembling, I reached out an unsure hand, hesitated…and then finally touched his chin.

His scales felt rough and scratchy, cooled by the night air. Startled by the long-since forgotten sensation of touch, I quickly pulled my hand away and drew in a shaky breath. Overwhelmed, I met Bahamut's eyes and tried to speak, but my voice wouldn't cooperate. Instead, I let out a sound that sounded half-sobbed, half strangled.

Bahamut blinked and then looked up at the sky for a moment before focusing back on me. Then with a somewhat thoughtful expression, he moved his head closer and coaxed quietly, "It is all right, Lunar. Do not be afraid of me."

The gentleness of his voice calmed me considerably and after a moment, I tentatively reached out -This time with both hands- and lightly grasped the sides of his wide face. Immediately, the rough and cool feel of his scales returned to my awareness and I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out in happiness. After many countless years, I could truly feel again.

And not only could I feel, but also…

Somehow, I was able to find my voice. "You…you can see me."

His voice and eyes were soft. "Yes."

"And…you can hear me."

"Yes."

My chin trembled and the blasted tears in my eyes were dangerously close to spilling down my cheeks. His voice…it was so full of understanding. How could that be? I had tried to murder him, for Hyne's sake! He had every right to loathe and disrespect me as much as I had once loathed and disrespected him. How in the world could he look at me with such an expression?

"Why?" I asked tearfully. "Why can you see me? Why can you hear me? Why can you feel me? Why? How?" My voice broke and before I knew it, a tear slid down my cheek. Horrified, I snatched my hands off of Bahamut and quickly wiped the tear away. Then I had to wipe away another. Then another. And another. Soon I was weeping freely, no longer worrying if he saw me or not. I was too overwhelmed by the situation to care. 

There was a long silence. Bahamut carefully inspected my now tear-stained face. Embarrassed, I tried to hide it from him by lowering my head. Then at last he said, "Our Lady Hyne works in very mysterious ways, Lunar. To be truthful, I do not know why I can see you. Or hear you and…feel you. I am just able to."

That only confused me more. There just had to be a reason. Didn't _everything_ happen for a reason? Hyne always used to assure me that it did. She never let anything happen without making sure that it would have a specific effect in the future, be it in the Guardian Realm or on Earth. 

Of course. Even after all of these years, how could I have forgotten that? Granted it was a well-known fact, but not everyone personally knew the being that not only invented the fact, but enforced it as well. Hyne was the Creator. And as such, all of Life belonged to her to do whatever she wished with it. Quite simply put…it was what we called -and still call to this day- Fate.

Which suddenly raised an interesting question: If because the fate of my exile technically came from Bahamut's words and _not_ Hyne's…could my Lady possibly have a much more different Fate in mind for me? Was that why Bahamut was able to find me?

I shook the thought away. The happiness from being free of my exile was making me jump to conclusions. Besides, why question the reason? What good would it do? No, it would be best to just accept my freedom for now. And if there was a reason, then I was sure that my mischievous Lady would make her intentions known sooner or later.

Knowing this, I closed my eyes and quickly sent her a silent prayer of both thanks and apology. Wherever she was, I hoped she would be able to hear it. Then I lifted my head and smiled through my tears at my Lord Bahamut. 

This seemed to surprise him, for he squinted at me and slightly tilted his head to the side. He looked about as confused as I felt, which was indeed very understandable. I was sure that he could not remember the last time he actually saw me smile at him. To be truthful, I could not remember the last time he saw me smile at him, either. Had it really been that long?

No matter. He could see me now. So without losing my smile, I reached back out and grasped his face again, pulling him toward me until I was able to bury my face in his chin. Once there, I hugged him tight and began sobbing shamelessly into his scales.

I couldn't see his reaction but I did feel him tense up, obviously surprised again. I couldn't blame him. I had never been this emotional or this…well, _forward_ with him before. Not even back when we were in the Great Hall the day of my exile, when my foremost and forward emotion had been anger. But that was then. Now, all I could feel was gratitude.

And since I had never openly expressed gratitude to my Lord before, it was no wonder he was tense.

Soon though, the tension disappeared from him and I felt a great _whoosh_ of air rush past me. Sniffling, I brought my face back and looked around, a bit startled to find that Bahamut was flying the two of us up from the water toward the very top of the Garden. He landed carefully and took a moment to settle himself before placing me on his left knee.

It was quiet between us for awhile. Then at last Bahamut said, "It is good to see you again, Lunar. And as I had expected, six thousand years have not changed you at all."

Now, I knew that he meant my physical appearance but his words went straight to my heart and I began to cry all over again. Because I had changed. I had changed more than any other being in the entire world, both inside and out. Bahamut just didn't know it. But…I had every intention of filling him in on everything. And I do mean everything. 

"There is so much that I want to tell you," I managed to tell him between sniffles. "But…I really don't know where to begin."

Silence. Then I felt him put a gentle claw on my head as he said softly, "Then take your time. I am not going anywhere."

So I told him everything: The beginning of my exile, my years of bitterness and guilt, and my constant longing to rejoin the living world. My discovery of the deceased Guardian, and then my encounter with Cerberus and Carbuncle in the woods some time later. I told him of my seemingly endless search for him before finding Dr. Jenner inside the Dollet Pub, who then took me with him back to the island where the Deep Sea Research Center was located. How I spent day after day inside the evil place with him, watching as Jenner and his team conducted their 'experiments'. I spoke of Dr. Malcolm Sabateur's plan to free him from his prison, how much I had disapproved of his decision to remain inside the Research Center in order to protect it, and how I had witnessed the great battle between himself and Squall's team of SeeDs. From there they collected Eden and then flew to Esthar, meeting President Laguna Loire and hearing his plan to defeat Ultamecia, thus leading them to the Lunatic Pandora to face Sorceress Adel. Next came the time compressed world and the giant maze that had been known as Ultamecia's castle, before they encountered Ultamecia herself and defeated her. I told him about getting lost with Rinoa while trying to find him and Squall, and how relieved I was when we had finally found them. Then at long last, I finished up my story with my following the SeeDs back to Balamb Garden, losing track of Squall and searching the entire Garden for him before finally climbing out onto the balcony.

Bahamut listened to all of this without interruption, occasionally stroking my hair in silent encouragement when I had become hesitant or emotional while telling the tale. When I was finished, he was quiet for a moment before remarking, "It sounds like you have had an adventurous life despite your exile."

"Yes," I agreed. "Though perhaps _too_ adventurous at times. There is much I have witnessed that I wish I could have stopped. Your…experience within the Deep Sea Research Center being one of them."

He didn't reply at first but continued to stroke my hair, seemingly deep in thought. It was rather relaxing, actually, and I was extremely comfortable. It was wonderful to have my sense of touch returned to me. I would not take it for granted again.

"I…thank you for staying with me while inside that Research Center," Bahamut spoke up, glancing down at me. "It means a lot to me to know that I was not alone during my ordeal."

I hung my head in shame. "It was the least I could do for you after…well, after I tried to…"

Although I could not finish, Bahamut seemed to know what I meant. "I understand."

Again, I had trouble grasping those words from him. So looking up at him, I had to ask, "Forgive me, my Lord, but…how is it that you can just 'understand'? Aren't you even the least bit angry with me for what I tried to do to you? Do you not hold the slightest feel of contempt for me? Truthfully, I find it hard to believe that you don't. Especially right now. How is it that you can be so friendly to me after all I have done to you?"

There was yet another long pause as he focused on the sky again. Then he faced me and ventured with, "How is it that you spent day after day standing beside a being that you…abhorred?"

Touché, as the humans would say. I grinned despite myself. "You seem to have a way with turning my own words against me, my Lord."

He didn't reply, so I continued with, "To be honest, I stayed with you because I felt that it was the best thing I could do for you while in my exiled state. It was my way of apologizing for what I did to you years ago while in the Guardian Realm. Since you were not able to hear my apology, I thought it best to just show you instead." Pause. "Which seems a bit silly now, considering that you could not actually see me, either." I shrugged my shoulders. "Still, for once my heart was in the right place. At least, it was to me."

I waited for him to comment, but he remained silent and just continued to look at me. It became a bit unnerving and I found myself frowning incredulously up at him. Had I said something wrong? I asked him.

"No," he replied finally. "I appreciate your honesty and even more so, your gesture. And to answer your question…I was angry with you for a long time. But then time passed, and my feelings of anger just seemed to pass with the years. Over time, I came to realize that there were more important things than my anger."

Amazed, I told him, "That's exactly how I felt. Time passed for me and I came to realize that there were more important things than my hatred. It was almost as if a whole new world had opened for me, and for the first time in ages I felt more at ease with myself. It was actually a huge step in my acceptance of my exile." I had to pause before deciding to go on with, "It was also a turning point in my feelings for you."

He blinked his glowing eyes at me. His voice came out low. "Your feelings for me?"

"Yes," I admitted shakily, turning my attention out over the ocean. Hyne, how could I have been getting nervous now? Taking a deep breath, I went on with, "I discovered that I did not really hate you at all. Instead, I hated myself for being jealous of you."

"Jealous?" Now his voice sounded incredulous. "Was that the reason? Jealousy?"

"Yes," I repeated, turning to look up at him again. "You were a more efficient Guardian than I was. You were more focused, more driven and more appreciated by all than I was. It was as if there was nothing that you could not handle, nothing you were not prepared for. You made me feel inferior to you and it caused me to doubt myself. I began to feel…unworthy of my Guardian position."

"Which really doesn't excuse my actions, because everything could have been avoided if I had just had more faith in my abilities and myself. But I didn't. I believed that I could not have faith in anything while you existed. With you gone, I could go back to feeling like my old, confident self again. I would no longer have any reason to doubt myself."

I was surprising my Lord left and right and his perplexed, unbelieving expression justified it. Still incredulous, he inquired, "If I truly made you feel that way…then why did you not just tell me?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but then quickly closed it again, thinking. What an excellent question. Why couldn't I have just explained to Bahamut that I was worried about how he was making me feel? It would have saved the both of us a lot of trouble.

Thinking aloud, I said, "I think my pride might have been the reason. Going to the Great Lord Bahamut with a jealousy, self-doubt issue would not have been an option for me, no matter what it may have solved. No, I thought it best to solve my own problem my own way."

"I see."

He saw? I tell him why I wanted to kill him and he just responds with 'I see'? Weary, I shook my head at the words and sighed. "I really wish that you would not 'see', my Lord. My explanation behind my actions would be a great deal easier if you were upset with me."

Silence. Then Bahamut began slowly with, "All right. Then suppose I do this?" He growled loudly, narrowing his eyes and viscously baring his teeth. Smoke billowed from his nostrils and his breathing became hard and fast, causing his body to heave. He looked fierce and powerful yet…yet…

A small laugh escaped from my lips and I quickly put a hand over my mouth to try to muffle the sound. Bahamut saw this and then puffed out his chest, growling louder while beating his wings back and forth. Then he let out a roar.

I roared, too. But with laughter instead, though I tried to hide it by pressing both hands harder over my mouth. But it was no use. The sight of my Lord in a mocked rage was so ridiculously amusing that I could not help myself. Soon I was holding onto my sides and laughing freely, shamelessly enjoying the sensation. It felt wonderful to laugh like this again.

When I finally calmed down, I took several deep breaths and then smiled up at him once again. By this time his expression had softened and he was staring down at me with kindness. Then out of the clear blue he remarked, "You are truly beautiful when you smile, Lunar."

The smile disappeared from my face as I felt a strange burning sensation build up within my cheeks. Uneasy, I looked away and muttered the first words that came to my mind. "I didn't know you had a sense of humor, my Lord."

There was yet another silence before he replied, "There are many things you do not know about me, Lunar." 

True. And luckily, it presented the perfect opportunity for a topic change. Clearing my throat, I glanced back up at him and admitted, "Yes, there are quite a few things I do not know about you. I realized this while I was waiting for you to wake up the day the Research Center was evacuated. I…suppose I never cared to get to know you."

The truth hurt me more than it seemed to hurt Bahamut, and I had to look away from him again so he wouldn't see it. It was a terrible thing to admit and it made me feel lower than ever before.

But…if there was thing I was learning about my Lord, it was his constant and seemingly effortless view of forgiveness. And he proved it to me by saying gently, "If you would care to know now, I will be more than happy to tell anything you might be curious about."

"'Really?"

"Yes."

I thought carefully. "What have you been up to since I left the Guardian Realm?"

Now Bahamut seemed to be thinking carefully. At last he began with, "I continued to lead the Guardians through both work and battle. In time, however, some began to question my leadership as several of them began heated rivalries. No matter how hard I tried, I could not seem to make the feuding Guardians listen to reason. Their own perspectives and emotions had suddenly become more important than their duties. None were able to see clearly any longer."

"I took the matter to Hyne many times, but she kept insisting that I come up with a way to end the feuding myself. I was, after all, their leader. And as such, it was my responsibility to keep the peace between my Guardians."

"I failed, though. Miserably." 

He lowered his head and I put a sympathetic hand on his scales. The pressure he had been under must have been incredible. Why hadn't Hyne stepped forward to help him? How could she have let the situation get that so of hand? What had she been thinking?

My touch seemed to give him strength because he pressed on with, "And because I had failed, Hyne chose to end the feuding herself by transforming all the Guardians into Mortals and then banishing them to Earth. With a wave of her arms, we were all surrounded in white light and then transported to separate locations on Earth. The feuding inside the Guardian Realm had ended; thus also ending the Immortal lives of the beings once known as the Great Hyne's Guardians."

Stunned, I just shook my head in amazement. What a story. "So how did you spend the beginning of your Mortal life?" 

"In solitude," he answered quietly. "I kept away from anything and everything living. I was too…upset to really communicate. For years I spent my time alone, traveling only if I sensed danger around me. It took a long, long time before I felt the need to interact with others again and when I did, it was only for a very limited time. I suppose I thought that if I just kept to myself, I would never have another opportunity to…disappoint anyone again."

His voice almost disappeared on the last word and he dropped his head even lower, obviously pained by the memory. I felt tremendously for him. So much had been expected of him while in the Guardian Realm and he had failed to live up to it all. Then when he was turned Mortal, he was too afraid of having to go through the same kind of pain again so he stayed by himself to avoid it. And here I had thought that Jenner and his team of Researchers were the reason why my Lord didn't want to leave the Deep Sea Research Center! As it turns out, he had already chosen some time ago not to interact with humans.

For the very first time, I was beginning to understand the great Lord Bahamut. 

He looked so sad now as I gazed up at his hanging face. No, I couldn't have that. Great Lord's were not supposed to look sad or defeated. Especially this one because Hyne knew that I had seen him look sad and helpless and defeated more than enough.

So I raised my arms and said firmly, "Lift me up."

He glanced at me. "I beg your pardon?"

"Lift me up," I repeated. "Please."

Dubious, he reached down and picked me up under the arms, lifting me up until we were eye-level with each other. But I shook my head and said, "No, not here." I pointed to his chest. "There."

He glanced at his chest and then back at me, puzzled. "Why?"

Had he always asked this many questions? "Because there is something I have to do. Something that…I wished to do a thousand times while you were held prisoner inside that dammed Research Center. Now please, do as I ask you."

He was giving his once assassin a great deal of leeway as he finally put me against his chest. Once there, I put my arms around as much of him as I could and then pressed my cheek against his scales. "There. Thank you."

He tensed up again. "What are you doing?"

What was I doing? Odd. I would have thought that it was obvious. "Comforting you."

"Comforting…?" Bahamut let his question trail off and took a very deep breath, causing my whole body to rise and fall with the movement of his chest. Then after a moment, he tightened his grip on me and hugged me to him, placing his head next to mine and letting out a great sigh.

I sighed, too. It felt peaceful to hold onto him like this. Peaceful…yet in a way almost surreal. Who would have ever guessed that this would come to be? The two of us in an embrace of comfort and friendship. I thought again of Hyne, wondering if she could see the two of us at that moment. Would she be proud? Relieved? Satisfied?

The peaceful silence went on for another few minutes. Then I broke it in order to ask softly, "What happens now?"

Bahamut shifted slightly and then pulled me back up to his eyes. His quiet voice was curious. "Well…now that you are free…what do you wish to do with your life?"

I was forced to think. Another excellent question. Of course at first, I had inclined to just stay with Bahamut. Wherever he went, I would go as well. Which by all means was nothing new. It had been my plan for the past twenty or so years. But with my newfound freedom…

"I do not know," I finally answered truthfully. "I thought I did, but now…I'm not so sure." Pause. "What about yourself, my Lord? After all that has happened to you…how do you wish to spend your life?"

His expression twitched, as if the question displeased him. But he replied with, "I have spent a great deal of time on my own since becoming Mortal. It was safe, I suppose. But I do not want to continue living that way. Memories of past victories while inside the Guardian Realm have been haunting me ever since Squall's SeeDs and the Guardians found me. Battling Ultamecia then reminded me of just how important having others around you really is. I had forgotten a long time ago."

"So I have decided that my place now is with my Guardians and these human SeeDs."

Hurray! "That's wonderful!" I told him happily, clapping my hands. "Oh, I had hoped that you would decide to stay. Balamb Garden is truly the best place for you to be. You and the rest of the Guardians."

He seemed to think about this carefully. "Yes, the rest of the Guardians." He glanced around, seemingly trying to take in all of what he now called his home. Which was an awful lot, I mused as I glanced around with him. Balamb Garden was a big place. Bahamut brought his eyes back to me and I could see within them that he agreed. I could also see that there was something more.

Indeed, I was right. After a few blinks, Bahamut kind of cocked his head to one side and began with, "It is true that I have many Guardians here with me. There are quite a few inside this Garden other than the ones Squall and his comrades posses that I have yet to see again, but am able to sense. This life seems to make them all happy. Even after all this time, they all still seem to love the feeling of both battling the enemy and protecting the humans."

"I'm sure I would, too, if I were them." I told him, feeling a bit wistful at the notion.

"Yes," Bahamut went on thoughtfully, "I imagine that you would, Lunar. Which brings me to a question."

"Yes?"

He blinked at me again. "Would you consider spending your new life here in Balamb Garden with the humans, Guardians and myself?"

WOULD I?!

Overjoyed, I almost shouted those words aloud but managed to stop myself just in time. My body had turned cold and I found myself reluctant to answer. As much as I would have loved to stay, two problems had made themselves known in my mind. One, how would the other Guardians react to my presence? Images of Cerberus' anger that night in the woods with Carbuncle flashed before my eyes and I cringed inwardly, recalling the Guardian of Multiple Magic's angry words.

__

"That insolent fool. She should have known better not to commit those acts. And she sure as hell should have known to accept Lord Bahamut's conditions. If she had, none of us Guardians would be in the position we are all in now." 

How many other Guardians shared this belief? Did Ifrit? Or Shiva? Or possibly…Diablos? There was no way to know for sure.

The second problem was much bigger and oddly, I hadn't noticed it until just now.

My power. It hadn't returned to me. I could not feel it vibrating through me as it once had, causing the moon to shimmer and obey my command. I felt no different than the day Hyne took them away from me. Without them, how could I call out for my 'Translucent Beam' to turn my allies invincible?How could I even call myself a Guardian if the humans were unable to absorb me into them? How was I supposed to protect anybody? No, I could not stay. Simply because of the possible friction it could cause between the Guardians, and because I had nothing to offer the humans in exchange for my stay.

I must have been quiet longer than I thought because my Lord's next spoken word was questioning. "Lunar?"

"I'm…thinking," I responded detachedly. "In truth, there is not any other place in the world that I would rather be than here inside Balamb Garden with you and the humans but… the other Guardians…and my lost power…I just can't. Not at the expense of the peace between the Guardians', and especially not at the expense of the human's safety. Without my power, how can I protect them?" I shook my head and sighed. "No, I can not stay."

My announcement was met by silence. Bahamut turned his attention back to the sky and just stared at it, wearing one of those unreadable expressions. He had done this a few times since he had found me on the balcony. Just what was he looking at? The stars? Or could it have been something more? He always _did_ strike me as being the type of person who sees far more than what is really there.

Finally, he spoke. His voice was probing. "If you were to regain your power…would you then agree to stay?"

The possible negative reaction from the other Guardians to my presence still weighed heavily on my mind. But…where else could I go? What other life options did I really have? The only real education I had had in the world was being a Guardian. Power, battles, observation…these were the only skills I possessed.

It did not matter. I wanted to be in the Garden regardless of any of this. But without my power, I could not impose.

"If I were to regain my power…yes," I answered him honestly. "But I could not guarantee complete acceptance of the other Guardians if I were to do so. And of course, there is also the humans' permission to consider."

Bahamut nodded slowly. "I understand." Silence. "You said that you knew of the Lunatic Pandora?"

"Yes. It was what caused the second Lunar Cry." I paused and then laughed sadly. "How ironic that the people of this world should name a disaster of mass proportions after myself. After all, it was my power that allowed such a panic to arise. Twice, no less."

"Then it is imperative that you take control of your power once again before another Lunar Cry can occur."

I was surprised. And intrigued. "Can I…is that possible?"

He nodded again. "I believe than it is. You see the human's think that the Crystal Pillar inside the Lunatic Pandora is what is calling the monsters from the moon. But this is not so. Hyne sealed your power inside of a piece of moon rock and buried it beneath what is now known as the Esthar continent. The only way for the Pandora to call the monsters to Earth would be to have the moon rock somewhere inside of it. If you were to travel to the Lunatic Pandora and conduct a search…"

"…Then I may be able to reclaim the piece of moon rock and in addition, reclaim my power," I finished for him, widening my eyes at the prospect. Could it really be done?

"Precisely," Bahamut told me.

A way to once again possess my power? "Then I must go at once," I decided. "The Lunatic Pandora will not stand all on its own for long. Men will come and take control of it sooner or later." Pause. "Do you have any idea just where inside the rock might be?"

He shook his head. "Regrettably no, I do not, Lunar. But I do know that it is inside."

All right. Then I would just have to search the entire structure until I found it. But…

"How am I supposed to get there?" I asked him worriedly.

Surprisingly, he did not hesitate to answer, "I will take you."

"You will?" I was amazed. "Right now?"

"Yes."

"But…but what about Squall? Shouldn't you be here in case he needs you?"

Something incredibly close to a smile twitched across my Lord's face. "I will not be gone long. What possible trouble could Squall get into inside of his own home?"

Home. The word caused tiny shivers to race down my back. How wonderful it sounded. Yet first…

"You will…speak to Squall about me while I'm gone?" I ventured.

"If you wish."

"And possibly…the other Guardians as well?"

This time Bahamut paused. "Does their approval and acceptance truly mean that much to you?"

"Yes, it does."

"Then yes, I will."

My voice was soft. "Thank you."

"You are welcome." He stood up straight and spread his wings. "Are you ready?"

I took a minute to think to myself. So many unbelievable things had happened since the defeat of Ultamecia: I was finally free of my exile, found a possible way to reclaim my long-lost power and stumbled upon a place where, for the first time in a long time, I could possibly call Home.

And on top of all that, I had my Lord Bahamut safe and sound. Which suddenly made me realize that I had yet to tell him something. Something that after more than six thousand years, he was finally going to hear. 

"I'm sorry." I told him quietly.

My Lord did a double take. Apparently my abrupt change of subject had caught him off guard. "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm sorry," I repeated, looking him straight in the eye. "You once asked me for a formal apology due to my actions, so now I am giving it to you. I am sorry, my Lord, for everything I have done to you and I beg your forgiveness."

More silence. He just stared at me with another unreadable expression and I felt myself cringing inwardly again. He forgave me, didn't he? I mean after all, he had offered me a way to reclaim my power and also offered to take me to where it could be. He even asked me to rejoin him and my fellow Guardians in protecting their special group of humans, the SeeDs. Or to put all of this more simply…he was treating me extremely well. Why would he do any of these things if he didn't forgive me?

Or…was this possibly Bahamut's way of getting rid of me? 

"You need not apologize," he replied after awhile, to my great relief. "Considering all that you have just told me, I would have thought that you would know that. Your presence inside the Deep Sea Research Center and every location after speaks volumes. I truly believe that you are sorry but if it will help ease your mind… I forgive you, Lunar."

How I had waited for those four words. Grateful, I lowered my head before him. "A million thanks to you, my Lord. I greatly appreciate it."

"Again, you are welcome, Lunar. And also, I would like you to understand that we are no longer in the Guardian Realm. It is not necessary for you to refer to me as your Lord. Those days are over and have been for quite some time. From now on, I am just Bahamut."

__

Again, forgive me, my Lord, because I am not inclined to agree.

"I'm ready now," I told him, disregarding his last statement.

He held me way from him and eyed me carefully. I had to give him my best look of confusion before he then continued with, "I want to warn you before we leave. It is going to be dangerous inside of the Lunatic Pandora, Lunar. Very, very dangerous." 

It had already occurred to me that my search inside of the Lunatic Pandora could be anything but safe. Monsters of every kind had fell down from the moon only several hours before and had landed all over the Esthar continent. They would be everywhere inside the gigantic structure. And there I would be inside of it with virtually no protection. No power and no weapon. 

A tiny pang of fear clutched at my chest. But for the first time in six millennia, the fear was for myself. I had lived in a state where nothing could harm me for so long that the possibility of it now…frightened me a bit. I would feel pain. I would bleed. I could possibly…die.

Because I knew that I wasn't just a Mortal now.

I was…human.

"I know," I replied in what I hoped was a brave voice. "But I am ready for it. I once sacrificed my power for myself, so I am now prepared to possibly sacrifice myself for my power. Especially now, when that power is quite literally the key to my future here in the Garden. Whatever consequences trying to find my power brings upon me…then so be it." Pause. "But if something were to happen…do you know what would become of me?"

Another silence, this time long. Bahamut seemed to be trying to choose his words very carefully, as if in an effort not to frighten me even more. At last he said, "No one knows what happens to us former Immortals when we die. We were born to serve, not born to die like the humans and other forms of life in this world. I believe that not even Hyne herself knows what will become of us. Her duty was to create, observe and try her best to protect Life. Death, if you will remember, is handled by another more elusive being."

"I do remember," I replied softly. It had just come back to me, actually. "Lady Hyne did not know who this being was either. That was another one of the reasons why she created us Guardians to help watch over the humans. She had no way of knowing what happened to their souls when they died, so she wanted to be able to prevent as many deaths as possible, even despite the fact that everyone's death is inevitable. It was the one and only part of Life that she did not any have control over."

"Correct."

Now it was I who looked up at the sky and after a moment, I began to realize what Bahamut had been looking for when he had done it. He hadn't been seeing anything. He had been searching for answers.

"And all this time, I had thought that Hyne controlled all of Fate," I murmured.

"She does," Bahamut assured me, "But even she can not stop death. The best she can do is protect you from it for a while." He held me against his chest again and I rested my head on his scales. "Now…are you still certain that you want to travel to the Lunatic Pandora?"

I thought again of everything that being a human's Guardian Force would mean to me, and then thought of how wonderful rejoining my fellow Guardians would be. True, some may not be happy to see me again but it would be wonderful all the same. The chance to have close, personal contact with every and any thing once again brought forth an amazing amount of courage within me. I had waited a very, very long time to be part of the world again and now that I was, I wanted it all. And nothing could be allowed to stop me.

"Yes," I told my Lord firmly and clearly, "I still want to search the Lunatic Pandora."

His grip on me tightened and I found it a bit difficult to breathe. Then I heard him say softly, "As you wish, Lunar. But you must first promise to come back safe."

Pause. "I can only promise to try, my Lord. Remember, death is just as unpredictable as it is inevitable. For everyone."

He didn't answer. Instead, he turned me around in his claws until I was facing the water again and then with a series of quick flaps, we rose off of the Garden and headed east toward Esthar.

I suppose some things are just better off not said. His concern for me was a warm surprise but just like the possible angry welcome the other Guardians might give me, it is best not to dwell on the uncertainties in life. Whether I make it back to Balamb Garden with my power is not what is most important. The fact that I was free of exile and able to search for it was what was important. Much like the old saying about how it is the journey that matters, and not the destination. I myself felt like I had been journeying for years, but still had not learned enough to actually reach one certain destination. Not even then, as I flew with my Lord, did I pretend to believe that everything was going to be all right.

I did, however, believe that there was no other place that I wanted to spend my newly restored life than with my Lord and my fellow Guardians. I had wasted too many years reflecting on and regretting the past. The time had come for me to redeem myself in their eyes. I had wished long and hard for a second chance and now that it had come true, I wasn't going to give it up without a fight. Fear or no fear.

With these thoughts firmly in mind, I reached in front of me and grasped what I could of Bahamut's claws into my hands. I was going to find my power and return to Balamb Garden someday. And when I did, I was going to make my Lord proud of me. I was going to make them all proud of me. My fellow Guardians and especially, the humans known as SeeD. They were going to be proud to call me one of their Guardian Forces. I owed them that kind of loyalty, just as I owed it to the Guardians and my Lord Bahamut.

And even more so, to my Lady Hyne.


End file.
